


Smallville Day

by ssa_archivist



Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-10-06
Updated: 2012-04-17
Packaged: 2017-11-01 06:02:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 112,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/352839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssa_archivist/pseuds/ssa_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clark is forced to re-live the same day over and over again. Non-fuff.  Original antagonist.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

Remember the past, plan for the future, but live for today, because yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come. -Luke 

Smallville Day 

Time. Plainly and simply stated, there is a lot of time. Time does not care about the circle of life or evolution. It does not have emotions; love and hate mean nothing to time. It just exists. The human perception of how life unfolds has been pushed into one little word: time. But, does time just flow along like a river? Or, are there rapids and twists and turns and still waters? Why does it seem to go so quickly some moments and insanely slow others? What if- what if you could bend time? Change it? Fast-forward or rewind it? Freeze frame one special place forever? Or make an endless loop, of a day that you will never forget? 

Day One 

Clark was lying on a soft bed in a dimly lit room. Lithe hands moved over his shoulders and down his lower torso, gently tickling and massaging him. The blue eyes of the hand's owner watched him and he smiled at the feelings of love radiating from them. Moaning, he moved towards the pleasant sensation, and deeply kissed the hungry mouth before him. The sensation of clothed skin rubbing against his naked body caused him to whimper with urgent need. The twin mattress began to squeak in protest as they rocked together heavily, banging the headboard against the wall. Grinding his erection into the fabric-clad muscular leg harder, Clark moved towards climax. This was a desire that he didn't often feel during his waking hours, and he lusted for more as he cried out sharply in pleasure. 

Clark hated waking up with a hard-on. A few years earlier, he would have had an embarrassing mess to clean up, but luckily that was a thing of the past. The sexual dream and its occupant faded from his mind as he turned off the alarm. Yawning and stretching, he reluctantly got out of bed and made his way to the bathroom to have his regular morning shower. 

Today was Friday, so he was mildly ecstatic that the week would finally be over. His screwed up joke of a life had gotten even more difficult lately. Having endured about a million heart tests, his dad had recently come home from the hospital, as he had so bitterly complained about being `cooped up like a hen chicken' since arriving back. 

It wasn't that Clark didn't care because it hurt to see his father this way; but, his dad stubbornly tried to do too much too fast. Clark wanted to yell or just overall freak-out whenever he saw his dad lift, push, or move too quickly and start gasping for breath. No matter what Clark or his mom said, his father continually did the opposite, and it was driving him up the wall. To make things worse, his dad was now only slightly less moody and depressed than before he'd left, while his mother had been whole-heartedly worried and stressed in his absence. And Clark was stuck somewhere in the middle. So, the overall atmosphere was now about the same as before, which made him even madder because `things were supposed to be getting better' like his mom kept saying over and over to either him or herself. Exhausted by too much thinking, Clark made his way downstairs into the kitchen inhaling a deep breath of something good. 

Analyzing his feelings, he realized that his parent's moods must have been rubbing off on him a little too much causing him to be unnaturally depressed, worried and stressed about everything. No, he was expected to be the happy-go-lucky Clark Kent that everyone adored, not some moody and mopey doppelganger version of himself. 

Absently, he greeted his mom with a faint smile and nod as he entered the downstairs kitchen. 

Life had gotten more complicated everyday since Lex Luthor had hit him with his car. He wished he could turn back time to when he had merely thought that he was special instead of some Area 51 reject. Life would be so much simpler. Like when he and Pete had used to collect tadpoles from the nearby pond, feed them and watch as they turned into frogs. `Okay, maybe not quite that far back.' And there weren't any fairytale endings to those memories either, most of the poor little frogs had ended up dying by frying out in the sun. 

Clark muttered out loud, "Wow, way too morbid thoughts there." 

"Did you say something honey?" His mom turned towards his direction. 

"Not really, I was just talking to myself." 

"Oh, well as long as you don't answer back, then it's okay." 

Clark laughed at his mom's warped sense of humor. At least, she seemed happier today. 

`What was I thinking about?' Lex. Problems and Lex. He tried not to actively blame any of his current troubles on Lex or anyone else for that matter. 

But, his problems simply seemed to grow and multiply like some monstrous computer virus. For starters: Lionel Luther had practically super-glued himself to Clark's ass, continually asking him questions and getting much too close for comfort. It was becoming quite upsetting. The urge to strangle the man was becoming just a bit harder to fight every day. Lionel Luthor made him sick. 

Staring out of the front window to keenly watch his dad from a distance, Clark quickly went outside to zip through a couple of easy morning chores. During those boring minutes he couldn't stop feeling sorry for himself. 

Pete and Chloe were trying to start some sort of relationship, which was confusing in itself. Chloe had seemed more than flattered by their elevator kiss, but that didn't mean they were now committed for life. Did it? Seeing them holding hands in the school's hallways practically icked him out. He couldn't stop feeling jealous about that fact that he didn't have anyone to hold hands with himself. 

Lana - the girl he'd yearned for, dated briefly, then pushed so far away that there was now going to be a whole ocean between them -- was leaving for Paris in a few weeks. `Just wonderful.' His friends had no time to spend with him. Lex was an entirely different matter. There was so much confusion and heartache that it simply scared him to think too much about their friendship. If it could be called that. Sometimes, it almost felt like they weren't even friends anymore. 

Clark was starting to miss hanging out with people, and the loneliness was bothering him. It made him feel like more of an outsider, like someone that nobody wanted to be around anymore. Only people, who wanted something from him that he was not willing to give, haunted his presence, like the FBI or meteor mutants who seemed to hound his every move. The usual secrets and lies which Clark constantly had to tell to almost everyone continued to weigh heavier on his mind with each passing day. 

Standing in the middle of the barn, Clark mumbled, "Chloe is right, I'm a big fat liar." Turning he left to go back into the house. 

Washing his hands in the kitchen sink, Clark spoke in a hushed tone, "How are you doing today?" 

"I'm fine. You should eat before the food gets cold." She pointed at the table's large plate of pancakes. 

"Hot or cold I eat too fast to tell the difference anyway." 

It warmed his heart to hear his mom laugh with genuine happiness. 

Finally, he decided, as he sat down to eat breakfast that he just wanted to relax and stop thinking for a whole day. Maybe Lex would like to do something with him on the weekend. His once close friend was distant from him now, and Clark felt guilty about the rift that was forming between them. A few things had gone wrong lately in Smallville, and he had accused Lex of becoming too much like his father. It was one of the few insults that actually bothered his friend. When thinking back, he realized that he had been too harsh with Lex; Lex had always been a good friend to him, and he realized that he should start returning the favor. 

"Mom, I was thinking of going over to Lex's after school. I haven't seen him much lately, and I wanna go out with him tomorrow." Clark knew that he'd been a bit short-tempered lately, and by going out the next day with a friend to have some fun, he could prove to himself that he could still enjoy life without needing to stress out all the time. 

"Will you be home for dinner?" His mom smiled, looking happy with his decision. 

"Yes. If not I'll call." He sighed and ate the delicious pancakes that his mom had made. "These are really great!" 

In the background, the news was playing, and Clark was disheartened to see that an earthquake had hit Asia somewhere around Russia. The quake had a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter and was followed by many aftershocks of almost as high a magnitude. He watched as they stated death toll estimates ranged all the way to over 5,000 and other horrifying facts, feeling bad for the people on the other side of the world. 

His mom glanced over at the TV and mentioned what a shame it was, all those poor people. The feeling of guilt made him angry. Well, it wasn't fun living in `tornado alley' either, he mused. He quickly gave himself a mental slap for thinking such a thing. `God, feeling anymore pathetic today?' There really wasn't anything he could do about an earthquake on the other side of the world, so he moved his thoughts onto closer family matters. 

"How's Dad doing?" 

"He's in better spirits today. But before you go, he needed some help with the tractor. I think there may be a flat tire." His mom picked up his empty plate then continued, "Do you know what you two will be doing Saturday?" 

"I don't know. Maybe doing something different in Metropolis for a change? Go bowling. I know how much Lex would love that." Clark snickered. 

"I'd like to see that. I hope things go okay between you and Lex." Still smiling Clark could see her brows wrinkle into small stress lines. 

"Everything will be fine. Stop worrying." 

His mom hugged him. Letting him go with a sweet motherly smile, she walked over to the sink to do the dishes. His mom was the best. 

Before leaving for school, Clark quickly went to change the tire on the tractor. On the way, he decided to have a bit of a father and son chat and hoped that it would help them both feel better. 

Smiling, his dad looked at him with a strange distant look on his face, "Thanks, Son. I hope you have a good day at school." His face was dirty with oil and something orange was streaked across his forehead. 

He joked, "Sure, another exciting day at Smallville High. What could possibly go wrong?" 

"Clark, I know things have been rough lately. But, I promise they'll be turning for the better soon. And yes, I'm feeling just fine." His dad patted him lovingly on the shoulder before joking, "In fact, I may be in better health than I was before." 

His worry must have been showing again. Clark never could hide his emotions like other people he knew, aka Lex, who seemed to be able to appear just fine when he was actually plotting some serious revenge or something. Smiling, he tried to appear happier. 

"Really?" His dad did appear stronger. "You know how much mom and I worry about you, right?" 

"Yes. And, I know how pig-headed I can be too. But that doesn't always stop us from feeling and acting the way we do even when we know we're wrong." 

Clark had always thought his dad was the strong one, even the fact that Clark could lift him using only his pinky finger had never really made him stop to think about how fragile his dad could be. `Just like any other human being.' "We care about you. Please, just ask for my help or wait for me to come home first so I can do the larger chores before doing to much on your own, okay?" 

His dad sighed, "I will try. I just hated feeling.... so." He turned away from Clark looking up into the bright blue sky, "...useless." 

Clark wanted to hug him and tell his dad how he would always be one of the most important people in his life. Instead, Clark held back and settled for just a hug. 

"I know I've told you this before, but I will never regret that you are my son and I will do anything I have to in order to keep you safe. Because I love you that much." His dad hugged him tighter, not wanting to let him go. 

"That's why it hurts me so much that because of what I did you had to end up paying for it. You and mom- It's always my fault." 

"Don't you ever say that again. You hear me? I'll always be proud of you and standby whatever choices you make." Clark glanced at his father's stern expression. "You better get going, or you'll be late for school." 

"Sorry." As Clark began to walk away, he remembered his plans for later that day, "Oh, I'd like to go out with, Lex, tomorrow. I'll be asking him after classes. It'd be great to get away and go to Metropolis for the day, but only if you're absolutely positive that you don't need me." 

"I'll be fine. I hope you have fun." His dad smiling about Clark spending time with Lex was almost eerie in a nice different kind of way. 

"Gotta go. Give mom a big kiss I think she'd like that. See ya." 

Clark grinned to himself as he sped off to school. It was great that they had been able to talk even for that brief a moment. He hadn't seen his dad that much lately and now that he had talked with him, Clark really felt like things would be getting better. And, it had been great to almost get permission to go out with his friend as well. 

In the past, it had been fun sometimes to bug his dad about Lex. Deep down, Clark knew that his dad had at the very least warmed up to Lex being in their lives, but even if it interfered with his dad's basic sense of morals and logic, the noble Jonathan Kent still had a problem seeing past the Luthor name. `No one's perfect.' Not Lex or even his own dad. Those thoughts surprised him as Clark made his super-fast short-cut to school. 

He still only breezed into class with less than ten seconds to spare. Pete gave him a thumbs up and Chloe rolled her eyes at his now standard almost tardiness. In English, the teacher introduced _Hamlet_ to the class. She talked about how one of the play's major themes was Hamlet's procrastination problem, and about the ongoing debate as to whether Hamlet was really mad or not. He hadn't read the play yet, only Lex would think something like that was light reading material. It was mildly appealing. Second period Math class had a trivial exam; he believed to have passed as usual with flying colors. Overall, the morning was uneventful. 

At lunch, Chloe found him walking down one of the hallways leading to the Torch. "Clark, I have to tell you about this retarded movie I saw with Pete last night!" 

"Sure, what was it called?" 

She snorted after saying the title, " _A Foreign Affair_." Clark didn't think it sounded very funny. 

"We got to see it in special limited release. Personally, I think they're trying to make the audience not realise that it was about this close to being a straight-to-video." Her thumb and forefinger were held about an inch apart. "It was almost like being forced to watch _The Bachelor_." 

"Really. Weren't you guys lucky." Replying sarcastically, he tried to seem interested. "So, what was it about?" 

Chloe giggled further, "Two Midwest brothers urgently need household help after their mother dies. So, they decide to join a matchmaking trip to Russia to find and bring home a traditionally minded housewife. My God, how demeaning to women does that sound to you?" 

"Huh? Oh yeah, very." `Please let that be the correct answer.' He had zoned out halfway though. 

She didn't appear to notice, "I think David Arquette was kinda cute in it." 

Clark smiled, "Me too." 

"God, can you believe Pete just loved it?" She was looking at him with an overtly amused look on her face. 

"Why?" 

"I think Pete secretly has the hots for Tim Blake Nelson." She was obviously trying hard not to laugh. 

"What?" She had to be mocking him. 

"Clark, you're not even listening to me, are you?" 

Sounding defensive, he said, "I tried to." 

She poked him in the arm, "Men." Chloe turned to leave him, probably in the search for Pete. 

He had wanted to be interested in what she was saying, and he tried to be happy for them and their new relationship, which excluded him. Shaking his head, he started back towards the Torch. His next class, Biology wasn't for another hour. `Smallville weirdness was never-ending.' 

Calling out from behind him, Chloe yelled, "Pete and I are going to watch the Crows practice during our spare time, if you want to join us we'd be happy to see you there! It could be fun to watch. The quarterback this year is a real A-hole. We could make fun of him together!" 

He hollered back, "Maybe!" 

He didn't have any time to give a better answer before she was gone. It was a nice invitation, but today he didn't feel like dealing with other peoples relationships, so he opted out of going soon after being asked. Instead, his spare time would be a mildly lonely one surfing the internet. 

A few minutes later, Clark sighed as he looked outside the nearest window and saw the High School's football team the Crows practicing for one of the season's last games tomorrow. Feeling a twinge of jealously at no longer being part of the team, like two years ago for a whole week almost didn't count, and that they, being Chloe and Pete, were there together without him. First, it only gave him a taste of `school spirit' and popularity sort of things and being part of the team had almost made him forget how not normal he really was. Second, they tended to get way too touchy-feely with each other. Plus, he still felt a touch of contempt from time to time when he remembered Whitney and friends making him a Scarecrow just for the fun of it. Oh well, `such is life.' 

With an unusual lack of interest, Clark spent most of Biology class playing with his pen. When he applied too much pressure by accident, it sprayed a ton of ink onto his arm and the top up the desk. Embarrassed, he managed to clean it up without having the whole class gawk at him. 

Clark made sure to mutter out a comment, "Stupid cheap pens." 

Leaning over to help and to whisper into his ear Pete said, "You have to be more careful man. Chloe's only gonna believe that a pen can be that `defectively brittle' so many times." 

"Yeah yeah." `Over protective hen.' Clark glanced over to see her staring at him mischievously. 

Later during last class, he vaguely wondered where Lana was, but he figured that she had used her spare time that day to do some extra work for the Talon; since she wouldn't be there much longer. She had mentioned to him that the coffee shop had been officially sold, and that this weekend would be its final few days open before she would be retiring it. 

At the end of the school day, he was glad that no big stories, such as meteor mutants or unexplained deaths, had occurred. Lionel had been blissfully absent, in Metropolis, and he sure didn't miss that bastard. If only that controlling ruthless man could stay away forever, in his own empire far, far away from him and Lex. That would make Clark very happy indeed. 

Smiling, Clark made his way down the long country road holding his full backpack by one hand on his shoulder. `Tomorrow was going to be great.' It was going to be fun to get out and breathe again, without having that suffocating feeling, and it'd be nice to make Lex laugh again. 

As he wandered into the Luthor mansion, he momentarily wondered whether Lex would be pleased to see him. His friend had been so busy lately with work and trying to get his own father incarcerated that Clark had seen very little of him, and when he did, it didn't always turn out so well. Lex was so devoted to spying on Lionel 24/7 that he willingly wore a listening device almost constantly now even when he wasn't around his father, `you never know when the devil might show up unannounced.' On the hopes of sending Lionel off packing to prison on any criminal activity or technicality that Lex could get on him. 

Clark had first found the FBI _wire_ by accident a few weeks ago when he'd been sorta prying into Lex's business uninvited and had seen it taped onto his friends chest with his x-ray vision. Looking back, he still couldn't believe how easily he had just ripped Lex's shirt open. `Wow, wasn't I a brazen one?' Being angry had been a great excuse at the time. Then again, he had done the same to Chloe as well, to save her life, which really didn't salvage the fact that the only thing Lex had been in danger of was betraying Clark. Now something like that would have instantly ended their friendship, maybe forever. 

He quickly x-scanned the rooms for Lex and, once locating him, went straight to the main office. The stained glass window at the far end of the room was open, letting in a cool fresh spring breeze. Clark noticed a rather large pile of folders on the left side of Lex's desk, which his friend was staring at with distain. Sure looked like super-fun research, or whatever it was, from where Clark was standing. Making a loud enough noise to attract Lex's attention, Clark was dismayed when Lex looked up with a dour expression. 

"What can I do for you today, Clark?" He noticed that his friend was wearing his wire at the moment. That, plus something about him was on edge, guarded, even more than usual. 

"I'd like to know if you're free on Saturday?" Clark moved nervously, shifting his feet. 

"May I ask why?" Lex's somber expression promptly turned neutral. 

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to do something. But, I don't want to bother you if you're busy. Things have been kind of crazy lately, and..." 

Lex raised his eyebrow curiously, asking, "And?" 

"If you're busy, that's okay." 

"What else were you going to say, Clark? `Things have been kind of crazy lately, and? And what?" 

"I've missed spending time with you. I like to hang out with you. But if you're busy, that's okay." Clark couldn't believe how idiotic that must have sounded. He glanced away, toward a beautiful painting on the wall, and began to blush. The gracefully blended colors seemed to be there to harmonize that section of the room. Lex had definitely re-furnished a bit in the last few weeks, and Clark just hadn't been here often enough lately to have noticed sooner. 

"I have a meeting here tomorrow morning at eight o'clock that I have to attend. But, the rest of my schedule can be arranged to give me the day off, if need be." Lex stood and looked hesitant to say more. 

Clark heard the `if need be' louder than anything else Lex had said and asked in an uncertain rush, "Lex, would you like to do something fun with me tomorrow?" 

He didn't want to beg, but if Lex said no, he knew that he might start to whine immaturely. So, he just stared intently at his friend and gave him one of his super smiles, hoping to charm a `yes' out of him. 

Lex shook his head in mild amusement. "What do you mean by fun?" 

Clark walked closer to him, noting to himself that Lex was dressed all in black again. He liked his friends colorful shirts better, black made him look like a morbid criminal, and it saddened Clark for some reason that he didn't comprehend. Now purple or burgundy, those looked good on him. `Why am I thinking about Lex's wardrobe?' 

"You know the thing that makes you feel good. Fun. We could do anything you want, I don't care. We could go to Metropolis, if you want? There's more to do there." He had a sudden urge to touch Lex in order to try to make him feel more at ease, but didn't. 

Lex walked up to him and stared directly into his eyes. It felt like his friend could see right into his very soul, and God was it uncomfortable. `What was he looking for?' 

"Sure. I'd like that. I'll pick you up at ten. Do you want me to surprise you with something, _fun_?" Lex smirked seductively at him. Clark had gotten used to that particular expression years ago. He missed seeing it. Lex didn't look at many people that way, and it made Clark feel special that his friend had certain _looks_ just for him. Though what they actually meant was a whole different thing. 

"Yeah. That'd be great!" Clark had the urge to leave now. The conversation had turned out to be a bit weirder than he had thought it would be. Weird in that Lex was being very friendly and that he wanted Lex to be even friendlier. Plus, his mind was going into the gutter faster than usual around Lex. He had gotten a yes, and it made him feel a strange flutter in his chest. `That just meant I'm very happy, right?' 

As he turned to leave, Lex put his hand on Clark's arm and said, "I'm glad that you want to do something with me, Clark. It really means a lot. I like spending time with you as well." His smile just reached his eyes. "You're not staying?" 

"No. I promised I'd be home for supper." Clark stepped out of Lex's grasp and started to walk towards the front door. Turning back to face his friend, he continued, "But I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow." 

"Till then." Lex took his lame excuse in stride and walked back to his desk, sat down and began to look through some of the folders. 

Once he was out the door and halfway to the front gates, Clark stopped and used his super-hearing to spy on what Lex might be saying to himself. He knew that he was invading his friend's privacy, and that it had become an extremely bad habit of his, but he couldn't help himself. He wanted to know what Lex was up to, all the time. After a minute, he heard Lex pick up his phone and tell his assistant to cancel his afternoon appointments for the next day. He heard the lady mention that Lionel Luthor wouldn't be too happy about that, and Lex replied with, `-it's none of your business. I'm not paying you for personal advice.' After the click of the receiver, there was an absolute silence. Sighing and not knowing what he had expected, he slowly began the long walk home, wanting the extra time to think. 

In all honesty, he wasn't sure what he really wanted from Lex. He practically expected his friend to be some sort of saint, and when Lex didn't always measure up to his own personal standards, it hurt him. Sighing to himself, Clark wondered why the feeling bothered him much. 

During supper, Clark hoped that his parents wouldn't be wondering why he was acting so strangely, because he didn't know why either. Sure, he was quieter than usual but at the same time he felt jumpy. His whole body tingled in an extremely abnormal way. It kinda felt like the air was vibrating off of his skin and sending little shock waves of electricity up and down his spine. Sounds seemed louder than usual, the carrots and potato's aromas tickled the inside of his nose, and his chair felt like lumpy rocks under his ass. Not to sound too melodramatic, but it felt like his body sensed that there was something wrong in the very air around him. 

After what must have been the tenth time of loudly shifting in his seat and scratching his nose his mom finally asked, "Clark, is something the matter?" 

Staring up at her surprised that she'd noticed his fidgeting, Clark lied, "No." 

"Well, it'd be great if you finished eating your meal before you accidentally make it fly off the table." his dad joked, obviously trying to make light of the situation. 

"Oh yeah, I guess maybe I'm a bit stressed still, and I'm kinda excited about going out tomorrow." 

Frowning, his dad replied, "Where are you going tomorrow? I don't remember you mentioning anything to me." 

"This morning, remember? I said I was going to ask Lex if he wanted to go to Metropolis with me." Clark glanced at his mom and saw her resolved expression of acceptance; it was nice to know that his mom was still quite willing for the two of them to stay friends. 

His mom smiled as she got up to get her freshly made cherry pie from the kitchen. "That's great. I hope you two have a good time." 

His dad snorted into his milk before gruffly stating, "Sorry, I guess I forgot. Just make sure to have your chores done before you leave, and be back before eleven." 

Clark smiled at his now sighing dad, who continued eating his meal by extra vigorously chewing on his steak. 

Sure, maybe he wasn't normally inclined to ask permission before going anywhere or doing anything, he most often just did it... because hey, he was almost eighteen and... heck it was nice to just have the permission even if his dad still could have said no. But, this time he had asked and after doing a few quick chores tomorrow he'd be home free to have a roaring good time. 

The rest of the supper, evening and night went by at a regular pace. Trying to ignore the continued annoyance of unusual sounds and sensations, Clark finally let himself relax, feeling content knowing that he would finally be spending some quality time with one of his best friends. 

Lying sprawled across his twin bed, it was around midnight before he was finally able to calm down enough go into a deep sleep. 

Day Two 

Clark lay stiff with his eyes shut as someone moved around on top of him and began to groan relentlessly into his right ear. When the person called out his name with longing and breathlessness, the sensory overload went straight to his groin, causing Clark to become fully aroused. The rough voice begged for him to touch their body, to take whatever he wanted. Oh, and he wanted to so very much. He wanted everything. Instead, he could only lie on his back and let the person touch him. His body felt like it had somehow turned to lead and denied him the ability to move. The person went from teasing his nipples to kissing and licking his thigh, slowly moving to his belly-button and below it. Hands pulled his boxers over his ass as a warm wet heat began to envelop his... 

Crap, Clark hated waking up horny with a hard on. It was beyond annoying to feel such a need for release and not be able to get it, unless he felt like masturbating, and right now he didn't. It seemed that the more stressed he felt during the day, the more sexual dreams he would have at night. He wondered, as he flipped onto his stomach and tried not to grind into the bed, if there was any sort of connection between the two. 

Clark vaguely wondered for a moment who his sexual partner in his last two nights dreams had been. It'd seemed strange that he couldn't recall the person's face, but he decided to just assume that it must be either Lana or some other girl because up until now he'd been mostly fantasizing during the day about women. So, why would his thoughts be any different at night? 

Looking at the alarm clock, he sighed when he realized that he had forgotten to change the alarm time to 9:00 before going to bed last night. No way was he getting out of bed at 7:00 am on a Saturday if he didn't have to. He may be a farm boy at heart, but he wanted today to be as relaxing and carefree as possible and sleeping in had been one of his priorities for the day. 

Smiling, he thought about how much he usually looked forward to sleeping in on the weekends, and about how today was going to be extra special. He wanted to be in a good mood when Lex showed up in a few hours. Re-setting the alarm he rolled over and promptly went back to sleep, hoping to pick up his dream from where it had left off. 

"Clark? ... Clark! ... _Bang bang_ ... CLARK!" 

"WHAT!?" Being woken up so abruptly scared him somewhat. 

His mother peered into the room, her expression slightly concerned. "You're going to be late for school." 

This time the dream that he had been pulled out of had been full of countless people screaming for his help, and it had been utterly hopeless to help them all. There were just too many, and he wasn't fast enough. Their cries of pain and grief had surrounded him in the deep haze of his nightmare, making him want to yell at them to leave him alone. The feeling of desolation had been maddening. Looking at his mom, he tried to shake off the sensation of impending doom. 

"Huh?" He rubbed his eyes and yawned. `Can mom have a stranger sense of humor?' "Very funny." 

"Why is going to school funny, Clark?" 

"It's funny when it's a Saturday," he grumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes. 

"You missed the bus already. I made pancakes, but I don't think you'll have time to eat. And no, sorry Clark, it's not Saturday. You'll have to _rush_ to get there in time." Martha smiled. "We all make mistakes." 

"You're serious?" `This is just wrong. Am I still dreaming? Or was yesterday the dream?' He suspiciously looked around the room, expecting to see something amiss. `Maybe the bogeyman will pop out of my closet next?' He almost snickered at his own dumb internal comment. 

"Deadly." Martha laughed. "You'd better move it, buster." Turning around, she quickly left the room leaving him still a little shocked and alone. 

"Shit." he muttered. Now, wide awake, he frantically tried to figure out where he had gone wrong in mixing up his days while speed-dressing and brushing his teeth. He sped out of the front door less than five minutes later, missing both the news and talking with his dad. 

School was just plain eerie. He had never had such a continuous experience of dj vu before. The teachers were yapping about the same crap they'd preached about yesterday. Not that he hated school, but this feeling of repetition was grinding a bit thin on his nerves. His only bit of amusement had come during his English class, when he decided to raise his hand and proceed to paraphrase all the basic points about Hamlet to the whole class. 

Pete grimaced at him, "I can't believe you read that Shakespeare snooze-fest ahead of time. God, sometimes you can be such a nerd, Clark." 

"Hey, I watched the Mel Gibson movie the other night while you were busy ogling Chloe." He lied, never having actually seen the movie, while visually shuddering at the thought of Pete and Chloe making out. 

"Whatever, you're just jealous. Nerd-boy." 

Clark snorted then turned to blankly stare at the teacher who looked in their direction. He didn't particularly want anymore attention directed at him for the rest of that period. 

Next the math exam was laughable, he mused as he finished his trigonometry test that was too identical to yesterdays to make the same mistakes twice. `Perfect score, maybe?' He knew there was something seriously wrong at this point, but all the students and teachers around him were acting just like everything was perfectly normal. 

At lunch, he was on his way to the Torch when Chloe came up behind him and said, "Clark, I have to tell you about this retarded movie I saw with Pete last night!" 

"Let me guess, was it " _A Foreign Affair_ "?" Feeling frustrated, he really wanted to leave now. The hallway, the school, maybe even the whole darn town. 

"Pete told you already, huh?" 

"No, you did." If they were trying to play some annoying trick on him, he wouldn't be impressed. 

"I think I'm missing something here." She looked at him questioningly, "I don't think that I told you. Maybe it was someone who looked like me?" 

`Ah, who could forget Tina Greer?' "No, it really was you. I know this may sound... like every other strange occurrence day in Smallville, but I think I'm re-living today. And no one else is." How he hated that idea. 

"Wow, that's... freaky." 

"Tell me about it." Clark sighed. Not seeing any hint of mischief in Chloe's eyes finally made him ditch the idea that his friends were pulling any sort of prank on him, unfortunately that had been the lesser of the two evils. 

"Research?" Already whipping out one of her many notebooks full of conspiracy theories, Chloe appeared ready for action. 

"Always. I'll go find, Pete, and meet you back at the Torch." 

"Sure, Clark. See ya in a couple." Chloe looked both excited and concerned. He always thought that she might be a bit too obsessed with Smallville's weird occurrences. Plus, they tended to put her in too many near death experiences, which unfortunately didn't seem to hinder her curiosity any. 

Once the three of them got together, almost nothing could stop them from cracking whatever abnormal case they may have come across. This was not one of those times. 

After more than an hour of finding nothing, he stood, banged his knee, and overturned his chair due to a bit of mental exhaustion and fatigue, or just plain clumsiness. There were now a couple of obvious cracks and dents in the furniture that had the misfortune to get in his way. 

Out of habit he said, "Ouch." 

Clark glanced at Chloe, who had the audacity to laugh at him and say, "Kudos. I believe you broke the table and chair." 

Ignoring her, he turned to look at Pete and tried to state politely, "I don't really feel like looking at anymore stuff right now. I think I'll go out for some air to clear my head a bit, and be back in a little while." 

"We'll keep looking stuff up for you if you want?" Pete grinned while trying to shush Chloe from saying anything else next to him. 

"No, that's okay. You two have fun, go watch the Football players, or make out under the grandstands if you want." 

Chloe quickly retorted, "Hey, we've only done that once. You're the one who has a bad habit of spying on people. I guess I should stop mentoring you, since you learned from only the very best. Me." 

"Very funny. Bye guys." Pete and Chloe waved goodbye and he quickly left the room. 

Feeling downhearted, Clark couldn't believe how pointless their so called research had been when they had no idea what they were searching for. How do you find proof that one person had re-lived a day when no one else had any knowledge of doing so themselves? It was beyond maddening. Also, by that point, the events of the day were changing from what he remembered, mostly due to his own interference, and he just wanted to put all this weirdness behind him. 

There was always the chance that maybe he was just going crazy. `Clark Kent Cracks Under the Strain of Having Such a Normal Adolescence,' wouldn't that make great headline news? He laughed out loud at his private joke. Only his parents and Pete knew how wrong that was, while most of the outside world believed he was a regular teenager. 

Once outside, he began to pace further and further away from the school until he decided to scrap the idea of returning to the rest of his classes altogether. At that moment, it had just seemed way too pointless anyway. 

While walking aimlessly through town, he thought about how this might be similar to the creepy future phone call that had happened with Lana. Maybe this was just a one-time thing, and tomorrow would be tomorrow. `Why do these things always happen to me? Do I have a `Smallville Wall of Weird' magnet stuck on my back or something?' 

A kind of melancholy had taken him over, making him want to scream his complaints out to the world. He wanted today to be Saturday and he wanted to be having fun... with Lex. 

After his unexpected morning, he had totally forgotten about Lex and now looking up, he was astonished to find himself at the Luthor castle's front door. As Clark considered what to do, Lex made the decision for him by opening the door and inviting him in. On opening the front door, his friend looked both pleasantly surprised and wary at the same time after seeing who his afternoon visitor was. As Clark was led into the main living room by Lex, he realized how genuinely happy he was to be in his friend's presence. 

Lex poured himself a Scotch, "Would you like anything to eat or drink?" In the beginning of their relationship, it had been most flattering how often Lex played the polite host to him, but now it just felt too formal. 

"No, thank you." Thinking that this would be a great way to ask Lex, again, if he wanted to spend some quality time with him tomorrow, Clark grinned and tried to look as comfortable as possible, "So, how are you doing?" 

Lex's expression changed to faintly amused, his overall posture looked casual, while he patiently waited for Clark to explain his unexpected presence. "I'm fine. Can I help you with something?" 

"I was planning on coming over later today to ask you a question, but at lunch I went out for a walk and kinda ended up coming over early." He hoped that he didn't sound too stupid. 

"What did you what to ask me?" 

"I would like to do something fun with you tomorrow. We could go to Metropolis after you're finished with your big meeting here with your dad at 8:00, and we can do whatever you what." Clark almost didn't sound nervous at all. 

Lex gave him one of those _what the fuck?_ looks before Clark realized his mistake. He had just shown knowledge of significant information that he shouldn't have been privy to. Great, it must have sounded like he was stalking Lex. `Was it time to lie again?' Lying to people he cared deeply about was beginning to feel like poison coming out of his mouth, making those near him nauseated by breathing in his... lies. 

The look of horror on his face must have been blatantly obvious, and helping with his unease, Lex seemed to let it go and smiled. Lex had a nice smile; when it wasn't condescending or sarcastic, it was a very nice smile. 

"That can be arranged." 

Lex didn't say what Clark had expected him to. Did he want an accusation? Lately, Lex just seemed to accept whatever irrational things Clark told him. It was better than the constant pushing for answers earlier in their friendship, but it didn't make Clark feel any better about lying to him. He didn't know what he really wanted. All he knew was that there was no way that he could tell Lex his secrets. Because he was a Luthor and... why was he hearing his dad's voice in his head? 

"Great. I can meet you here around 10:00 then." Clark felt like he had to say more, something important. "You know I've really missed you lately, and I asked because I`d like to spend some time with you. Have fun and stuff. And I'd love to get away and relax. Because there's been a lot of... stress." 

"Yes, there has been." Lex sighed walked over to the leather sofa and sat down, swallowing what was left of his drink. 

Clark noticed that he looked tired, a bit worn around the edges. He wondered how hard it was on Lex to have to incessantly pursue Lionel for criminal information while jail time lingered in the background for him. Clark was absolutely certain of his friend's innocence and he couldn't fathom the fact that Lionel's selfishness had caused him to set up his own son. Lex had been forced to take the fall for something he hadn't done, and now he had to fight to stay a free man. 

Clark gently shook his head and decided that he really had nowhere else that he wanted to go; since skipping classes was considered a bad thing and his parents would notice that he had come home too early. Giving a sly grin, he meandered over to the sofa and sat down next to Lex. 

"Why aren't you in school right now?" His friend's blue eyes strangely appeared to be gleaming with an inner light. 

"It's been a rough day." Chuckling, he continued, "and I didn't like it." Seeing the questioning look his friend was giving him, Clark made a valiant attempt at being truthful, "School was totally freaky. No wait, ever since I woke up the entire day has been just psycho. I mean, I feel like I've been re-living some sort of dream. The day started off good, and now it's just turned bad." 

"Why?" Lex's voice sounded concerned. 

"Because I have been re-living what seems like a dream. Today was supposed to be Saturday, and I know you're most likely thinking I'm being _ridiculous_ or something. But, today at school everything was exactly the same as yesterday. The classes, exams, teachers, lunch!" Clark shifted a bit, making the leather screech. 

The next few moments of silence were deafening for him. 

"You coming here, is that a repeat for you as well?" Clark couldn't tell whether Lex wanted a yes or a no answer to that. 

"Kinda, I didn't come over to ask whether you wanted to do something till after school. But, you did say yes, and that was nice." 

"Is that how you knew about my meeting tomorrow?" Lex looked at him hopefully, most likely expecting a lie. 

"Yes. You told me about it yesterday, except for you it wasn't. I guess it just didn't happen for you at all. I think I'm going to explode soon if I don't stop obsessing about this. It's probably nothing. Please, don`t ask about it." Clark looked towards the door and groaned out an, "If you don't mind. I'd rather not think about it anymore, at the moment." Damn, he didn't want to piss Lex off but his lips didn't want to stop flapping, and he had almost blurted out how different he was and other disturbing things. 

Lex seemed to contemplate his next move, "Would you like to stay here for a while?" 

Clark beamed, "I'd love to. If you're busy, I could watch a movie in the other room or something." 

Lex eased back into the sofa stretching out his right arm behind Clark's shoulders. "You've surprised me today. Thank you. I'm very fond of your company, and please stay as long as you like. I may be able to join you later on." Turning his body towards Clark, he teased, "Actually I have the perfect _fun_ event for us to do tomorrow. You'll love it." 

Clark wasn't comforted to see his friend's evil grin. He hoped they wouldn't be going to an Opera or something just as boring. Lex could have a very deranged sense of humor when he wanted to. "Hey, don't say that. Or I'll change my mind, and we'll just do whatever I wanna do." Clark couldn't help but laugh when Lex burst into a bright smile. 

Clark made himself comfortable and spent the next three hours watching the last chapter of _The Lord of the Rings_. Lex joined him on the couch halfway through with a big bowl of popcorn. Clark eagerly inhaled the snack. And as he crunched down on the last handful of popped corn, he watched as Gollum plummeted to his volcanic death. He gave a sad sigh towards such a pitiful creature. 

Clark looked at his friend wistfully, "I wish he could have stayed being the nicer Smeagol from `The Two Towers'. I liked him. Do you think everyone has a dark half?" 

"I'd like to think that angels walk among us. But no, I believe everyone does indeed have a dark side. And those that are surrounded by too much evil are often lost and become immoral themselves." Lex continued staring at the large plasma screen. 

"Can't they ever turn back to being good?" The thought of going past a point no return kind of darkness was a little too depressing. 

"Only if they want to. A person has to be extremely strong willed and highly motivated to do so alone. Outside support is often needed. Maybe, a Care-bear intervention would do it?" Lex put his left hand on Clark's knee and slightly squeezed. "Or the Smurfs? I hear that they can be really friendly even though they're blue." 

"Lex, I'm being serious." Even though he was enjoying the movie, he was mildly irritated that Lex didn't want to talk about the matter any further with him. 

Matching his irritation, Lex replied, "And I seriously want to watch the rest of this movie without having to discuss people's dark sides." 

"I'm sorry. I won't bother you anymore." He had forgotten that Lex sometimes had enough trouble keeping his own dark half in check. 

"No, you weren't bothering me. I just want to continue enjoying our time together. And I happen to really like this movie. You're making me miss it." The last sentence was said with a bit of humor and fake whining. 

Clark smiled and gave Lex's hand a squeeze back. 

A few minutes later, licking the last of the butter from his fingers, he turned to see Lex staring at him with such a strange and unusually deep emotional expression. Clark quickly looked away, still feeling the burn of blue irises. `What did that mean?' He resolved not to let it bother him. This was nice, and he felt so contented and safe. It was great: the popcorn, the movie, and especially the company. 

The phone on the table near them rang. 

Standing up and walking two steps towards the wall Lex glanced at the call display before answering it. "Hello. Good afternoon, Mr. Kent." Lex looked at him with a touch of concern. "Yes, Clark is here. No, I wasn't aware of the fact that he has been missing for the last few hours." 

`Lex is such an efficient liar.' Clark rolled his eyes and reluctantly rose from the couch. 

Continuing the faade, Lex replied to his dad's question of `when the hell did Clark get there?', "He just arrived here a few minutes ago- Certainly." Passing the phone to Clark, Lex gave him a disapproving frown. Who could blame him? No one liked to get lectured by his dad, and Lex had practically become an expert at it. 

"What do you think you're doing skipping school to hang out at Luthor's?" Sometimes, his dad made it impossible to get a word in edgewise. 

"It's not what you think, really." 

His dad practically snarled out, "I don't care, just come home right now. You had your mother worried sick." 

"Okay." The receiver clicked in Clark's ear before he could say goodbye. Sighing, he looked at Lex with an apology and softly put the phone back. "Sorry about that. I guess I should have left sooner." 

Lex appeared a bit gloomy, "I doubt you'll be able to go out tomorrow." Striding to the bar, Lex poured himself a brandy. 

"My dad's just upset right now. After I explain to him what's been going on, it'll be fine." `It'd better be.' Hell, if he'd been a regular boy, the number of times Clark had gone running off on his own to unknown places without permission it would have made him a border-line delinquent by now. "I'd better get going. See you in the morning." 

Clark hated leaving like this, because it was fairly obvious to him that Lex was going to be brooding about it for the rest of the evening. `What else can I do?' Striding out of the deathly quiet mansion with the determination to come back tomorrow, he sped home. 

Entering his house, Clark wasn't fazed by the stern lecture from his dad. Then his mom intervened. 

"Pete called about an hour ago wanting to know where you where." She put a hand on his arm, "he told us everything. I really wish you would have come home and told us as well." His mom lightly shook her head looking disappointed in him. 

He felt a pang of guilt before mumbling, "I'm sorry." 

"We understand that you were upset at the time, but please just let us know what's going on. Pete and Chloe were going to send out a search party, and your dad was loading his gun." She gave his dad a playful nod. `They aren't going to stay mad at me? Sometimes miracles did happen.' 

"I've thought about it and I probably made a big deal out of nothing anyway. I promise not to disappear again." Clark knew how easily that promise could be broken, but he really would try. 

After dinner, dishes and homework, Clark begged to go out the next day. He thought about lying and convincing Pete to stick up for him, but in the end he went with the truth and got to hone some of his negotiating skills. The idea of Clark spending the day with Lex must have ended up sounding better than him sulking and complaining for the whole weekend. So they had finally agreed. 

Feeling almost giddy about his huge victory, Clark spent the rest of the night pampering his mom and flattering his dad's ego. 

"Mom this is the best cherry pie I've ever had. What's your secret?" 

Laughing his mom replied, "Stop sucking up young man. I know what you're up to. And, we already said yes. I promise your dad won't suddenly change his mind, unless you don't help out with the chores in the morning." 

"Cross my heart, you'll be able to eat off the barn floor after I'm done with it." Clark was so enthusiastically happy. 

Finally, something he was highly looking forward to and Clark was glad that he wouldn't have to disappoint Lex. The last thing that either of them needed was another big crap-fest. It really sucked to see how unhappy Lex was lately, it kinda eerily mirrored him. They were like two peas in a pod, but not the body snatcher kind. 

Going to bed around eleven, Clark couldn't stop thinking about invading space aliens, which seemed highly out of place, since his alien parents were so not the conquered kind. `Yeah right.' That fact was always a constant reminder that he would never be normal and most likely was doomed to be isolated and alone from the rest of society in some way for the rest of his life. He fell asleep feeling unhappy and alone. 

Day Three 

Clark was happily sucking on someone's big toe, and it was an unfamiliar yet enjoyable experience that was mildly kinky. Chuckling to himself, he opened his mouth wider and licked at the next digit. With a pop, he had two wiggling manicured toes between his teeth. He teased them in his mouth with his tongue, causing a laugh from their owner. Clark's heart warmed upon hearing the pleasant sound of glee. The voice then requested his presence elsewhere, and he made no hesitation in obeying. Slightly missing those sweet feet, he nuzzled against strong smooth calves, kissing and nipping his way up the lean muscular body, Clark got to deeply admire the whole amazing view, and seeing something that shouldn't be there... 

`Oh my God, it was a guy!' Clark smashed the alarm clock next to him and cursed out loud about breaking it. 

`This was wrong, everything was wrong on so many levels.' He specifically remembered changing the alarm to nine o'clock last night, and it had gone off at seven. Normal weekday morning time. `And, oh my God, it was a guy!' 

Shuddering at the thought of having to repeat the same day over yet again, he jumped out of bed, dressed and instantly appeared in the kitchen. Seeing his mother busily mixing pancake batter in a large bowl he asked, "Mom, what day is it?" 

The open worry in Clark's voice brought a frown to his mom's lips. "Friday, May-" 

"No!" He abruptly cut her off. "Is Dad outside?" 

Nodding yes, his mom started to say something, but Clark didn't hear it being in a hurry to leave the room. 

Clark stood and frowned when he found his dad muttering at the flat tractor tire, kicking it with his foot. As his dad looked up at Clark's sudden appearance, he wiped his hand across his forehead smearing some orange fluid across it. The familiar vision caused a sickening roll in Clark's stomach. 

"Son, is there something wrong?" 

"Yes, there really is. I need to talk to you and Mom, now. Please, let's go inside." He was proud that his voice had only quavered a tiny bit. 

"Of course." His dad appearing alarmed quickly put down his tool box and walked with him back to the yellow farm house. `Just what they all needed- more stress.' 

Clark knew how freaked out he must have just made his mom and dad, but hell he was in for a long discussion about every little detail that had happened over the last two days, plus he was the one caught in the middle of yet another `zany adventure.' 

* * *

After a while, Clark couldn't help but glance at the time, noticing that it was almost eight o'clock. He had been talking to his parents for almost an hour now. Clark sat at the kitchen table facing them as their expressions became extremely grim. The details of his last two days had been laid out before them with such panic that they now appeared to be quite distressed for him. The fact that he was reliving the same day over again was seriously scaring him. This seemed like something that Clark couldn't just super-manhandle into being better. 

His mom and dad looked at him and then each other. They seemed to communicate with each other telepathically on how to deal with this next new weird thing that was happening to him. 

His dad finally asked, "Son, are you sure you haven't made some kind of mistake? We don't want to blow this thing out of proportion if we don't have to." 

Clark thought hard on what specific facts had occurred to him during the last two days in a row, when he suddenly remembered the news report from the first day. Getting up he rushed to turn on the TV, and he was mildly pleased to find CNN airing an update from an area near Russia, "Once again the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.6 on the rictor scale, there has been a few after-shocks measuring up to a 6 in the last ten minutes. There has been 3,670 people confirmed dead, and over four thousand are still reported missing..." 

"How about this for proof?" Clark pointed desperately at the screen, "Dad, I don't think Russia gets earthquakes that often. God! This is like a global thing, and I'm the only one who knows?" 

The faces of the women and children that were covered in blood and dirt, flashed before his eyes, making him feel sick to his stomach. 

"These poor people could be re-living the day of their deaths over and over, and not even know it." Feeling more depressed, Clark returned to the table and let himself fall heavily back into the chair. 

His parents were shocked at his outburst, and they stared at him while the news reporter's voice droned on in the background. 

Clearing her throat, his mom was the first to speak as she stated kindly. "You can't save everyone, honey." 

"I know. I'm just so confused right now." Clark sighed, "Am I all alone in this?" 

His mom appeared to think over on how to answer him. `Which probably meant, yeah you are.' 

"Do you even believe me?" He couldn't think of the possibility right now that this could be permanent. To be forced to live a never-ending Friday would be one original hell he didn't want to have to deal with. 

"Of course we believe you, Clark, don't ever think otherwise. Your father and I just hope that whatever this is might just run its course out on its own. It hasn't been going on quite that long. Three days, right?" She got up and put her hand on Clark's shoulder. "We've always been able to find a solution together to these things in the past, and we don't think that this will be any different. Please, try not to worry too much." His mom hugged him tightly, which he returned gratefully. 

"Why don't you go to school and try to gather any information you can at the Torch. And we'll see if we can find out anything ourselves in the mean time." Smoothing out a rather nasty cowlick on the back of Clark's head, she bent down and kissed his forehead. 

Holding onto his mother, Clark felt better surrounded by the warmth of her loving hug. She gave him a sense of peace and the feeling that everything would turn out okay. He hoped that the feeling was right as he smiled and proceeded to get ready to go back out into the real world. 

Skipping two classes after wasting time in first period playing tic-tac-toe with himself, Clark had studied tons of newspaper articles around the world and various essays on the space-time continuum thingy. He had also researched to see if there were any other related strange occurrences reported, checking near Smallville first, and then slowly expanding his search to places like Metropolis and further away Gotham. 

Groaning out loud in aggravation, he decided that he really wanted to be alone right now. His classmates and friends had been purely difficult towards him the whole morning. They continually reminded him of his plight by doing and saying the same things around him that he had heard and seen the day before. So far, he had been safely hidden in the Torch. But his luck had run out when the lunch bell went off, and soon after, Chloe came strolling in with an evil grin on her face, and he quickly closed all of his browser windows. 

"Clark, so where were you for English and Math? Bad boy. I think you would have failed that horrible Math exam anyway, but..." She seemed to think that his skipping classes was hilarious. 

"I had to look up something very important on the Internet that just couldn't wait, and it kinda took longer than I thought. Can you lend me your English notes?" 

"Of course I will." Plunking herself down beside him, she looked at the empty blue screen. "Wow, fascinating stuff there. What's so important?" 

If only this space-time stupid thing had been happening to other people, which Clark had found no proof of... he really didn't want to be discussing it with Chloe, again. He was starting to become angry at having to repeat himself continually. He wanted to be alone to sulk. Not that sulking would solve any of his problems. `Maybe my parents are right and this would go away soon on its own.' 

"Chloe, it's personal and I don't feel like talking about it right now, okay?" 

"Sure, Clark, I won't push. But if you want to talk, you know you can come to me. Deal?" 

"Deal." Chloe's _truth_ lesson had not quite worn off, and she seemed willing to give Clark some space. `As impossible as it seems, small miracles are known to happen.' 

As she went to sit at her own computer to work on one of the last school years Torch issue, he re-opened multiple screens and continued his yawn-inspiring search. 

A few minutes later, Pete came waltzing into the room like he owned the place, and his long-time friend wore an expression of utter mischievous as he plopped himself on the desk next to him. Clark internally rolled his eyes at the prospect of having to tell yet another friend to more or less mind his or her own business. 

"Long time no see. Did you get lost?" 

Clark replied sarcastically, "Yeah, you know how it is. You make a left instead of a right, and two hours later you're in some frozen part of Canada." 

Frowning at his rude reply, Pete shook his head and gave Clark a friendly nudge, "And I bet that happens to you all the time too." 

"Well, once." Clark finally grinned, then turned to make sure that Chloe hadn't been listening to their conversation. Sometimes, it was a real relief to have someone who knew _all_ about him around. He could just relax and be himself, something he hardly remembered doing anymore. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Really." 

"Okay man, Chloe and I are gonna go watch `The Great Jack Swanson' rehearse his moves on the field at football practice later, you can join us if you want." 

"Maybe." One of these Fridays, he just might have to do that. 

"Great." 

Clark unhappily watched as Pete walked towards Chloe and placed his arms around her in an intimate hug from behind- while she continued to type away on the keyboard in front of her. He felt a twinge of misery as she smiled brightly at the contact. He'd lost his wingman and his non-girlfriend girl-friend at the same time. `Life sucks.' 

The hours rolled by monotonously as he surfed through what it felt like hundreds of tedious web pages. Determined to find something, hell _anything_ he stayed in the Torch until late in the evening. Near midnight quite tired and hungry, he passed the barn walking towards home when an un-excepted rush of dizziness hit him, causing Clark to trip and almost fall face first into the front door stairs. `What the hell was that?' 

Almost snarling in annoyance and defeat, he straightened up and went straight into his room, wanting only to lie down and rest. The whole day had amounted to nothing. He had found no answers only more questions, and on top of it all he had forgotten to ask Lex if he wanted to do something tomorrow... if there was a real tomorrow. The icing on his sugar-coated day was when his parents peered into his room to tell him about their big fat zero solution. And by the gloomy look on his dad's face, Clark didn't even want to ask what he had been up to in his own quest for answers. He was hungry, tired and wanted to punch something, really hard. Finally, going to bed well past midnight, Clark went to bed feeling extremely depressed. 

Day Five 

Someone slightly shorter than Clark was standing behind him, their breath barely tickling the back of his neck. Glancing around, he could see that they were in a desolate open field in the middle of nowhere. He felt the pleasant sensation of covered arms as they wrapped around his waist in a sweet comforting manner. Clark looked up into the navy blue sky, watching as the millions of tiny stars flickered in and out above him. The person softly told him that they would give him anything he wanted, anything he yearned for. A beautiful falling star caught his attention. It streaked across the night sky showing off all its wonderful glory. As the person hugged him closer, Clark felt like crying. 

This time, Clark thought it would be fun to see just how far he could throw the alarm clock. Sticking his head out the window and watching as the small black dot turned into a tiny little speck before winking out of existence he smiled and thought, `Pretty damn far.' 

He was not going to do any research today. `NO!' The last two days of pointless research had gotten so mind numbingly boring that Clark could barely stand it. Everything that had been done those two days had helped zip, zero, and zilch. No new facts, or any for that matter, had shown up. Even if he had found anything, it would have disappeared the next `day', and he had to deal with explaining all the annoying details to everyone yet again. His parents, Pete and Chloe had gotten on his nerves so badly that he had almost told them to `screw off and leave him the hell alone.' And after those two days, he still hadn't gone back to visit Lex, which pissed him off even more. 

It would be a great temporary solution, seeing Lex. `Yes.' Having decided that Lex was going to take him out and they were going to have some fun today, Clark grinned as he finished up in the bathroom. Today was going to be Saturday whether they, meaning everyone, liked it or not. 

He had just finished eating his tenth pancake while dialing on the cordless phone, when he impatiently hung up after hearing the busy signal yet again. `Why was Lex's phone still busy? He had three lines, call waiting and who knew what else.' 

"Clark, you'd better hurry up or you're going to be late for school." 

Was it so wrong to want to tell your own mother to shut the fuck up? "Mom, I'm going out after school and I won't be home for supper." 

"Oh? Well, your father needs you to change the tire on the tractor, so don`t be too late." She seemed to not mind that he hadn't told her where he was going or with whom. His parents were giving him more freedom lately, which he thanked God for. They could be much too sheltering and suffocating even at the best of times, and he was planning on being a bit bad today. 

"I'll do it now." 

Clark didn't go to school. Instead he went straight to his currently most desired destination. 

Standing outside of the Luthor mansion, Clark took several deep breaths, trying to hype himself up to what he was about to do. Yes, you can do it. A small wave of dizziness made him even more nervous. You. Can. Do. It. 

Quickly, he let himself into the archaic atmosphere that was Lex's somewhat unwanted domain, and located him in the main office. 

"Lex! I would love to go out today and do something relaxing, exciting, whatever... but fun with you. So are ya game?" Clark hoped the shock value would get Lex to say yes faster. Because, at the moment, he was in some serious discussion on the phone and it looked like his friend had planned on doing it for a while longer. 

Lex was shocked, he stopped talking and then his mouth moved in tiny little jerks like it wanted to form words. Clark would have laughed if he wasn't feeling so terrified. After a count of three, his friend swiftly ended the conversation on the phone and hung up. 

"May I ask what that was all about?" 

"First off, I swear this is the normal Clark Kent." He walked into Lex's personal space. "I think we should go to Metropolis and have the day off. Let's play hooky! It will be fun. I'll make sure of it. And we can do anything you want!" 

"I don't think-" 

Clark quickly cut him off, "Exactly. Don't think. This is a brilliant idea. We both miss spending time with each other and it's not like one day is going to kill you. Trust me. I'm not missing anything at school today." Gripping the sides of Lex's arms, he continued passionately, "I need this. We both need it." 

The arms under Clark's hands felt like granite. "Clark, are you really sure that this is such a good idea?" 

"Yes. Please." Shit, even he couldn't pretend there was no whine in that last word. And wow, did Lex look constipated or what? 

Of course, Lex agreed. Except for that one strange time for Pete, Lex always agreed. The one thing that Clark felt he could always be sure of was his power of persuasion over his wealthy friend. Life sometimes had little perks like that. 

Just before they left, Lex changed from his tight, black, long sleeved pullover into a flattering dark burgundy shirt. Staring through the shirt Clark got to see his friend's hairless muscular chest, the fact that he had removed the FBI bug was as extra benefit. The wire couldn't have been very comfortable to wear, plus it bothered Clark to think about it being there at all. Giving his friend one last quick look over, Clark approved of the shirt change. The new shirt brought out the color of Lex's eyes. 

He watched as Lex smirked at him. Hey, it wasn't like he'd given him a wolf whistle. 

"I'm glad to see you approve. I wouldn't want to be wearing something you didn't like." 

Clark couldn't help but blush, "Yeah, because then I'd make you change and model your whole wardrobe to me. And that would take up the rest of the day." 

Posing with one of his hands on an elegant hip Lex's smirk grew, "But I always thought my ass looked rather hot in a dress." Tilting his head to the side while batting his eye lashes, Lex continued, "I'm a size eight you know." Stunned into silence, Clark watched as Lex actually laughed and turned to leave the room. `Cruel evil man.' 

It took the usual few hours to drive to Metropolis. He was so happy being in Lex's Mercedes he thought he would burst. His feet tapped on the car floor, fingers drummed on the window, and head banged against the headrest in time with the blaring music and sometimes in time with his own non-stop talking. He talked about everything, Chloe and Pete's relationship, Lana's Paris trip, sports, music, movies, TV, weather, meteor mutants, his parents, Lionel, school, the future, and how he hated time. 

Lex engaged in the conversation whenever there was a break in Clark's ranting; there was definitely no uncomfortable silences this trip. Somehow, the strange wardrobe exchange had broken the ice, and it felt like they had time warped back a year or so. Clark loved how often he made his friend smile and laugh in those few hours. `Yes, this is fun. Now, where is Lex taking me anyway?' 

" _Microsoft Research's Annual TechFest_ : Microsoft employees only." Clark re-read the sign out loud for the second time. 

"Lex, I gave you the word _fun_ and this is what you came up with?" 

His friend, looking way too smug and innocent, replied. "Clark, you said we could do anything that I wanted to, right? This is a Microsoft Research `science fair' it offers a glimpse into their technology's future. It's highly entertaining, with over 150 demonstrations, and I can get a good look at some of LexCorp's upcoming competition from the inside. I honestly thought that this would be a fair trade considering I was supposed to be working today." 

Clark could practically see Lex `geeking out' beside him. Deciding to humor him, Clark retorted, "Oh please, tell me more." 

"TechFest is Microsoft Research's yearly gathering of its researchers from around the world. The company now has researchers in Redmond, Silicon Valley, Cambridge, England, and Beijing." It was `almost' cute how passionate Lex appeared during his speech, and Clark couldn't help smiling. "This event gives the researchers a chance to show their work to the various product teams at Microsoft, and as such, it's an indication of work that may someday move beyond the research stage and into the hands of businesses and consumers." 

`When did Lex have time to breathe?' 

"I'll give you an hour and if I'm not having any fun, we're leaving. Then it's my turn to choose." Clark was quite sure that Lex was playing a joke on him. Even though he secretly liked the idea of being able to get into some high scale place that he and most other people shouldn't have been able to get into, he had to set down some ground rules first. Everything in Lex's life was controlled by this intense passion; science was just one of them. 

Walking around the impressively designed room that had many colorful banners and flags all over the place that reminded him of a circus, Clark soon got lost in all the excitement. The first interesting thing they came upon was: _Google your life_ a computer vision for storing, searching and retrieving any memory from one's life. Lex thought it was the coolest idea ever- Clark didn't. The idea of something poking around in his brain made him severely uneasy. Then again, once he had a closer look it appeared to be a rather stupid looking thing that you had to wear around your neck that took pictures, or was that entirely something else? 

Lex pulled him over to the next exhibit before he could find out. 

Becoming instantly not interested in what Lex was so dazzled by, as his friend talked physics and maybe even algebra with the man at the booth, Clark noticed that the showcase next to the one he'd been dragged to had a cute little AI robot that recognized human speech. Greatly amused, Clark had a long discussion with it about cows and wheat- just to annoy that special someone who was annoying him. 

"Isn't he the most adorable thing you've ever seen, Lex?" Clark petted the top of its head, which had scary curly red hair on it. "Wow, he already knows so much about me. You know, I would love for him to be my new best friend." 

Lex had stated earlier, at first sight, that the robot looked simply hideous. Of course, at the time Clark had pretended not to notice. Now, he glared at Clark like he wanted to give him a hard friendly punch, which Clark knew would not have been a good idea. `This is fun.' 

"I don't know. But the thing does have you beat. How about I look into the new best friend part? Maybe if no-one wants it, the damn thing might follow you home." 

It made a strange grumbling-like noise. 

"Hey! You hurt its feeeelings. You`re a big meanie, Lex!" 

"Oh, waaa." Lex scoffed at seeing Clark's puppy dog eyes. 

A few minutes later, he glanced around to take note of all the researchers, and architects, and psychologists... oh my, not to forget the all-important computer scientists. There were so many gadgets and doo-hickeys and wow, the smart wristwatch (Smart Personal Object Technology) Clark tried on was a Sci-Fi Geek's wet dream. No way did he like it at half a million dollars' worth, though. Sadly, he meant it when he later told Lex that he wanted one for his upcoming eighteenth birthday. It was not like Lex would get it for him, because of the forgetting and all. Hell, the look on Lex's face when Clark seriously asked for the 500 thousand dollar toy watch was simply... priceless. And well, it was really cool. 

He was surprised when Lex showed him what the University of Washington's main venture was. 

"Clark, this is a joint endeavor project that uses machine learning to isolate compact candidates for HIV vaccines. The number of HIV strains creates an impediment to effectively combating the disease. Thus, the experimenters here are applying machine learning to the task of isolating parts of the virus that are most important and consistent across variants." Lex stared at him like he was computing some sort of numbers in his head. 

`Science can be such a magnificent thing. And Lex is an adorable nerd.' 

"That's really great." 

"In the near future, one can only hope that it can be inexpensive enough for the masses, so that all can benefit from this brilliance." 

`What can I say to that?' Deciding a nod was good enough, Clark wandered off to the left while Lex continued to discuss statistics to one of the university professors. 

An hour or so later, as Clark became engrossed with a highly intelligent phone, his stomach made a rather disturbingly loud noise. 

"Are you hiding a small animal in there?" Lex had snuck up behind him to embarrass him some more. 

Abruptly realizing that he was absolutely starving, Clark quickly glanced at his own puny watch and he was shocked to see that is was slightly past two o'clock. `We have been here for over two hours?' 

"No, but I am hungry. They have a food area over there." Clark pointed towards a tiny burger station in the far wall. "Would you mind?" 

Lex glanced at the fast food station with distaste, "I've seen all I've wanted to here. If you want to, we can leave now and maybe get something a bit healthier to eat." 

"Sure." 

They turned and started weaving their way out through the mass of people. 

"So, how torturous was it for you?" Lex gave him a knowing smirk. 

"I'm still at death's door. Can't you see how pale and shaky I am?" Clark tried to make himself appear sick. 

"You'll have to make sure to tell your parents how evil I was to you today. Not that they aren't already going to be pissed at me and my bad influence." Lex frowned. 

Yup, the next day his dad would have been ranting and raving about how Lex had helped him skip a whole day of school, and maybe even have phoned Lex to tell him off. But, Clark highly doubted that would happen, due to tomorrow's remote likelihood of arriving. 

"The devil made you do it!" 

In another winning attempt to make Lex laugh, Clark started prancing towards the exit with his hands pressed against his forehead, fingers pointing out to look like horns, and overly swaying his hips back and forth to mimic having a tail. "And the day isn't over yet, tonight we can still do whatever you want. I like your surprises." 

"Really?" Lex's face had that weird look again, "So, what do you want to eat?" 

"Pizza!" `Ah, the fifth food group.' Hey, it was _Saturday_ and Clark wanted pizza. 

"Oh, but of course. I know just the place." 

Lex called to make a reservation at some place called `Altizio's.' Clark soon found out that it was a nice mid- to upper class Italian restaurant. Once they were politely seated by the waitress, near the front window, Clark quickly ordered a pizza without reading the whole write up on it underneath. When his food arrived it didn't look like any pizza he had ever seen. It was way too flat and just plain weird looking. Clark gawked at it for a full five seconds after it was placed in front of him before Lex interrupted his solitary tableau. 

"That's how they make pizza in Italy, Clark. Most ethnic foods that you have encountered have been so _Americanized_ that they're barely recognizable as the original article." Lex's eyes danced with amusement, "Try it. I swear it won't bite." 

"Ha. Ha." Clark began to eat a slice, and it was amazingly very good. Lex's plate, on the other hand, looked like a work of art, different colors of sauces and spices, an assortment of vegetables, fettuccine, and pieces of chicken breast where arranged to look like a cuisine masterpiece. As Lex put a fork in it and started to twist some pasta into a really large spoon, Clark had to look away before the food went into Lex's mouth. `Why did that image seem so, erotic?' 

Happening to look towards the entrance, Clark watched as a beautiful blonde couple walked in, and he admired how they seemed totally engrossed with each other. The man wore a grey suit while she was in an exquisite blue dress. Absently, he observed how fit and tall they were. `Why were rich people always so good-looking?' Clark wouldn't have normally noticed them further, but the woman, upon breaking her loving gaze with the man, had instantly let go of his arm and strode straight towards them. 

She looked extremely freaked that they were sitting at that table and started yelling at them, "Who the fuck do you people think you are!?" 

The man, who had followed behind her, gave the impression of being physically slapped by her harsh words. Advancing forward, he put his hand on her shoulder, trying to gently remove her from their presence. Clark noticed their wedding rings just as the woman turned and glanced at her husband with a look of pure terror. 

Turning back towards them, with a determined expression on her face, she continued in a snarl like voice, "This is _our_ table, how dare you sit here. He proposed to me at this table. What right do you assholes think you have taking that away from me? You're not supposed to be here!" 

The man tried to quiet her, causing the woman to almost break down in tears. "Today is finally starting to get better after enduring such misery, and you had to arrive and fuck everything up." She tore her eyes away from her husband to stare at Lex with a touch of recollection in her green eyes, "I don't care who the hell you are. No one is going to take him away from me. No one!" 

She screamed so hard that Clark actually saw spittle come out of her mouth. He stared in stunned silence as she grimaced at them as if they had suddenly grown big red horns. He almost felt sorry for her. Was there something wrong with her mentally? Glaring first at Lex then at him, her eyes narrowed further into nasty slits as they stood up. She no longer looked pretty; instead her face was contorted with a slightly insane appearance making her quite ugly. Nervously, her eyes looked past them, seemingly darting around the room to search for more unseen enemies. 

"Excuse me _Miss_ , but I think that you are being rather rude. If you don't leave this establishment right now, with your unfortunate companion, I'll have you escorted out. Whether you like it or not." Lex looked like he wanted to stab or maybe even behead her. 

It got worse. She actually lunged forward out of the man's grasp, and grabbed both of them with a look of desperation. Where she touched them, Clark saw a strange dim blue glow appear on his and Lex's lower arms and glancing up he noticed that her eyes now had a matching shade of blue. Clark was preparing to do battle if she turned out to be murderous or something, but just as suddenly she let go of them, turned and began to walk away. Tenderly, she led the horrified man with her out of the restaurant without looking back once. 

The scariest part for Clark was when he heard her whisper to herself once outside the restaurant, "It's him." 

He could feel Lex shaking with rage beside him. Clark turned to say something calming to him, but Lex was already on his way to the front desk of the restaurant demanding to know the name of the woman. The attendant scrambled into the back room to find out. Seconds were hours. Well, their luck had positively been ruined. 

"Sir, I believe that we did make a mistake. Elizabeth and Michel Hoffman had reserved the table that we gave you, but we could have-" 

Lex cut the man off with, "Has she always been such a vulgar bitch?" Clark decided that the grabbing thing is what had put him over the edge. His friend didn't like having people touch him. People other than Clark, that is. 

The manager stammered out, "No." 

"Well, I'd highly appreciate it if I were to never to have the misfortune of seeing her here, again." Lex's voice was full of an authority that demanded obedience. 

"Yes, Sir." Lex must come here often enough to have garnered such a quick response. That, or the fact that he was Lex Luthor. They continued talking, but Clark had zoned out. 

He was sure that Lex, if he had a tomorrow, would investigate one Mrs. Elizabeth Hoffman, and give her a good background check or even go as far as _black listing_ her. Too bad, though that nothing would impact the rude woman in any real way. Clark never liked to wish harm on anyone, but that lady... something about her had felt very off and powerful. It made him shiver slightly in remembrance. `Maybe I should look her up? No, not today.' Even as his inner warning bells continued to go off in his head, he pushed them back and ignored them the best he could. Today was his happy Saturday day, and he wasn't going to let some scary woman ruin it for him. 

Now, that the restaurant no longer felt comfortable, Clark wanted to leave, "Can we go somewhere else to finish eating, Lex?" 

"Yes, where would you like to go?" He friend was definitely on edge, and Clark wanted to go somewhere else in order to get him to relax. 

He tried to think of a specific place, but he realized that he just didn't know the upper class part of the city that well. "I want to go somewhere quiet. Maybe just the two of us?" 

"I do have a penthouse here in Metropolis that I visit whenever I wish. It's not too far from here, and we can have some fresh food delivered." 

"What I was eating was fine. I'm totally happy doggy bagging it. But if you want to get something else, I don't mind." The thought of a quiet intimate picnic while watching a movie or having a mellow conversation sounded quite good, hopefully for the both of them. By the slight easing of Lex's frown, Clark thought that it would be the perfect solution. 

"I'll get them to box it up for you and make you another one. I know what a bottomless pit you are." 

Silently, Lex tossed a very large bill at the still apologizing manager; he gave Clark a nod and tersely ordered some more food that was to be delivered to his nearby residence. Hurriedly, they left the business establishment. His friend still had temper problems. After all the shit Lex had been through during the last year, even anger management classes couldn't help, especially since the first go around had introduced his friend to a murderous now MIA ex-wife. `Why were women so moody anyway?' Clark would never be able to understand them. 

On their way to the car, Clark tried to hide a strong wave of dizziness, as he was forced to grip onto the side of a building. 

"Is something wrong?" Lex studied his strained expression. 

"No, I was just wondering what kind of marble this is. The colors are very unique." 

His friend's eyebrow rose a tad before closely inspecting the surface near Clark's hand, "Looks like Bordeaux." 

"Thanks. I don't think I could have continued on living without knowing that." Finally, Clark could see straight again, straight into Lex's mirthful gaze. 

"Glad to have been of service." Lex grinned then turned and continued on towards his car. 

Still distracted by his body's sudden weakness, Clark speculated on whether he was just over-hungry. `That could be it, right?' 

Soon after getting into Lex's posh silver Mercedes, his friend's cell phone rang. Lex looked at the caller ID and scowled. "Yes?" His friend unknowingly sped through a red light; well Clark hoped that he did it by accident. 

"I'm engaged right now in a matter of great importance." 

The car jerked quickly around a left corner, causing Clark to slam into the car door. He stared horrified after seeing an elbow sized dent now embedded into it. Lex was still pissed off, but engrossed with his own personal conversation, continuing to talk into the phone totally unaware of his car's new flaw. 

"No, I don't think I can make it." 

At the next set of red lights Clark was almost happy when Lex slammed on the brakes, fortunately Clark's seat-belt was barely able to stop his head from hitting the dash-board. `That would have been bad.' At least, Lex hadn't continued to endanger himself and others with his scary driving. 

"Really? How industrious of you." Lex turned to look at Clark, a hint of desperation lurked underneath his now imperfect mask. "Your resourcefulness is highly prized in the business world, but I'd like it if you made your continuous interferences in my life a tad less obvious." 

The car moved from zero to sixty in less than six seconds. Crap, Clark thought. `Why did Lionel have to call now?' He really hated that man. 

Lex hung up after snarling, "I'll be there in twenty minutes." 

The car abruptly turned into a different direction, which Clark had been moderately prepared for. Glancing at his friend, he watched as Lex tried to calm himself down while staring intensely at the road ahead of them. The car's speed had greatly decreased, now that Lex was off the phone and driving towards LuthorCorp. 

"What was that all about?" At the moment, Clark was deeply concerned for Lex, and his scary driving habits. 

"My Dad commanded my presence in his office in order to discuss some important research project. I'm sorry, it shouldn't take long." 

"I don't mind." 

"Thanks, Clark. I'd rather drink flaming poison than get within 50 yards from him right now." Lex's expression looked slightly worried even as he smiled at him. "He was originally scheduled to bother me tomorrow morning, but he was informed by one of his lap-dogs that I was in Metropolis and decided to torture me a bit sooner than planned. Lucky us." 

Clark pondered the upcoming meeting with distaste as well, "You shouldn't have to go if you don't want to. Just blow him off, or something." 

Lex actually laughed hard into the steering wheel as they pulled up in front of the very large and powerful looking building. "You know I'd love to do that, and it's not like I didn't try." 

His face became serious as they got out of the car, "Honestly, I did not want today to be marred anymore than it had to be. And if I didn't meet him, tomorrow he'll be up and down my ass to the point that murder would start looking mighty fine. That my friend, would have taken away some of the greatness that is today." 

Lex melodramatically raised his hands high above his head while looking up into the bright blue sky. To Clark, he mirrored a beautiful and tragic Greek hero. 

"You look silly." 

"Ah, maybe to the untrained eye." Lex grinned then he moved to open the building's door for him. `Who said chivalry was dead?' 

Clark answered before thinking, "Hey, I'm very trainable." `Wow, why did I say such idiotic things?' 

"You don't want to know where my mind went with what you just said." 

He was sure Lex had not meant for him to hear his whispered comment, but once again he couldn't keep his month shut, "Probably not." 

Clark could just imagine himself wearing a studded collar and Lex holding the leash and telling him to sit and roll over. Of course, they were a little old to be playing children's games. Or, he at least hoped that was something similar to what Lex had been thinking about, unfortunately by the freaked-out look Lex gave him it most certainly wasn't. 

As they walked towards the elevator, his friend nodded a greeting to the security guard who returned the gesture in a reserved way. Clark felt a pang of remorse at the realization that Lex really did live in a very hostile environment, and with very few friends to protect what little innocence he had left. Not that he had that many friends himself, but at least he had a warm and loving family. And, Lionel Luthor was neither warm nor loving. 

Currently enclosed in the small space, Clark nervously stared at the ascending digital numbers. He could see Lex watching him in his peripheral vision. After having a strange conversation with Lex and the prospect of having a confrontation with their now mutual pain in the ass, Clark wasn't a very happy camper. 

"I think you would be more comfortable if you waited in the foyer. I believe there are a few magazines that you might be interested in." Lex put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. 

In order to get himself to relax a bit during the ride upwards as the elevator's turbulence had unnerved him, Clark decided to try out some humor, "What? "Betsy the Super-Cow"? Or "Drunken Farmer's Market of Today"? I don't know... I may find those a little too interesting." 

"You're a genius. How did you guess?" 

Snickering, he replied, "Must have been my spider-sense tingling, Harry." 

"Clark, you're a strange one." Lex moved a bit closer, into his personal space. 

"Yeah, but you love me anyway." Clark grinned and was surprised to see Lex's eyes widened slightly as the elevator doors opened. "Well it's time to face your father. Try not to have too much fun." 

"Oh, I'm sure there's no danger of that happening." Gazing intensely at Clark, his friend continued speaking, "I won't be longer than ten minutes." 

Clark watched as Lex entered Lionel Luthor's office with a sense of dread. He sighed at having to be there then he silently sat down and began to browse through a _People_ magazine. Knowing that he could listen in on the _fun_ conversation, he quickly decided against it. Unfortunately, there were a few sentences here and there that were said loud enough for even a normal teenager to hear. Such as: "You betrayed me, your own father." "Spare me the lecture, Dad." "I did it to make you stronger." "You brought this on yourself." It didn't sound like they were discussing a research project. 

About ten minutes later, he heard a glass shatter. Super-speeding, he was in the room to witness the two Luthor's involved in a verbal and slightly physical sparing match. He noticed that Lex's burgundy shirt had been ripped open to reveal his bare smooth pale chest. Even though the direct evidence was missing, Lionel had found out. Shit, he looked pissed to know that his son had been investigating him, not that the bastard didn't deserve it. 

Taking in a deep breath, he immediately realized that the room smelled of alcohol, and by the looks of the older Luthor, Lionel was quite drunk. He almost looked ill. Glancing at the floor, he noticed the broken tumbler near the end of Lionel's grand desk. 

"You are never going to amount to anything, traitor." Lionel glared past Lex to stare straight at him. "Clark, how nice of you to join us. I heard that you where the reason my son decided to neglect his duties today. It's so sweet, how you have to rescue him from his own messes all the time. Lex makes such a pretty damsel in distress, doesn't he?" 

Clark's whole body tensed with the strain of not hitting the evil longhaired man. 

"Why don`t you come on in?" Lionel purred at the obvious fact that he already had. Walking up to him he asked, "Lex is such a good friend to you isn't he?" 

"Yes, and nothing _you_ have to say will change my mind." Clark dared Lionel to say more. 

Lex moved to stand in between them, "Clark, I think it would be best if you went downstairs and waited for me in the car." 

Lionel's eyes darted from Lex to Clark, "Really? Then, I'm sure you would be simply fascinated by what you'll find in the Luthor Mansion. Lex has a room that would absolutely _captivate_ you." He then appeared to chuckle at his own personal joke. 

"Dad, leave Clark out of this. He has nothing to do with it." Lex had a strange anxious look on his face. 

"No, I must insist. Third floor, east wing, the only door that`s locked. I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem with that." Lionel brushed Lex aside grinning at them cruelly, "I just want to enlighten you Clark. A son that is so willing to betray his own father can't be that trustworthy as a friend. Honestly, how loyal do you think he is?" 

Clark stood tall, "Too bad you're not much of a father to betray. I know what you're really like Mr. Luthor, and I plan to help Lex put you where you belong- behind bars. I'm not going to believe anything you say." 

"Then, you're less intelligent than I thought you were." He appeared to dismiss Clark. 

Looking at Lex he continued, "Son, I see you've made yourself a very obedient lap dog. You know I used to wonder why you've continually failed with women. It's certainly not a Luthor trait. But, then seeing how you look at that boy, perhaps, I shouldn't have been surprised." 

"I've only acted the way you taught me to, maybe the fault lies with you." Lex's stance seemed to indicate to Clark that he was no longer welcome in his friend's presence. So, he started to back away from the two Luthor's', feeling absolutely dumbfounded by the direction of their conversation was now going. 

"You must be quite desperate to swoon over some farm boy. And, we both know that Clark isn't really just some farm _boy_." Lionel looked at Clark like he wanted to dissect him 

Stopping at the doorway's threshold, Clark stood still shocked at that admission. Lionel may have aged badly in the last few years but he still had the great power to make others feel small and helpless around him, and Clark felt the pull of both at the moment. `God... Lionel knew.' 

Lex replied passionately, "You're right. I'm very desperate for attention. Poor Lex Luthor-- never knew his father's love. Oh physical love, yes... Not like I wanted that. Then again, you've always wanted total control over every part of me. Guess what, Dad. I don't want your _love_ anymore. And, I'm not playing your game any longer. I'm going to do whatever the hell I want and you won't be able to stop me." 

Clark turned his back. Lex had totally ignored the question about him, which was sort of nice, but what the hell, why was Lex talking about physical love with his father for? That was so wrong on so many levels. That didn't mean what he thought it did, did it? Being freaked out to the max, Clark's head began to spin and he held his stomach feeling nauseas. 

Lionel's voice rose, "Are you threatening me?" 

"No, it's a promise." 

"How dare you!" 

Clark slowly walked back towards his seat. They knew about him. All the hiding and lies, and they had still found out. What had been the point in trying? Was Lex attracted to him? God, he didn't know which was more disturbing. When he decided that he had calmed down enough to listen in on what was being said, to some extent super-hearing had to be used, for their voices had gone quiet again. 

"Clark is off limits. If you so much as touch him I'll kill you." Lex's voice was slightly raspy. 

Damn, Clark must have missed something important. `Should I go back into the room?' If Lionel did something to hurt Lex, he would never forgive himself. 

"Son or not, I would rather see you dead than for you to get physically closer to that boy-" 

Lex's sarcastic voice yelled out, "I don't know Dad. I always thought you got turned on by that sort of thing! Leave him alone or-" 

"Yes, you're right there. He's a thing--it's not even human." 

Clark began to feel queasier. He remembered that he was supposed to go back and wait in the car. Maybe it was for the best if he didn't hear anymore. He glanced at the time. Three-thirty dead on. As he walked towards the elevator, he thought about what he could possibly say to his friend later, "Hey Lex, I know you and your Dad said some pretty weird things to each other, but I've forgotten it already. So don`t worry about it, I'm not." It would be a small white lie compared to all the other ones, and he didn't care right now if Lex would believe him or not. 

As the electronic doors opened, he heard Lex shout out, "No!" 

He froze, and a gunshot echoed off the walls immediately after. Oh my God, Lex! The hallway blurred and then the office door opened with such force that one side shattered. 

`Where is the bullet?' Clark scanned the room and found it traveling towards the wall near the doorway. Reducing his speed he watched as Lionel and Lex were motionlessly embracing each other. The bullet hit the wall with a dull thump, slower than it should have. `No this is wrong.' 

Clark could see the expression of terror on Lionel's face. Time went back to normal. He watched as Lex let go of his father and with an animal roar, Lex pushed him away from himself with such great force that Lionel was sent flailing backwards. The older Luthor seemed too weak to stay upright, and fell to the floor, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, holding onto something. 

"Lex?" Clark touched his friend's right arm, lightly turning Lex to face him. He then gave him an affectionate hug. He had been so scared that something bad had happened. The hammering in his own chest was so loud he was sure Lex could hear it. He absently noticed that Lex's heartbeat was wildly irregular. 

Lex snuggled into Clark's neck, "You didn't leave me." His voice sounded hoarse but happy to see him. 

"Of course not, I was going to wait for you in the car. Lex is something wrong?" Clark couldn't believe how pale his friend had gone, and he became even more frightened when he began to feel Lex's body start to tremble against his. 

"Yes." 

Pulling back a bit to get a better frontal view, Clark felt something wet and warm on the middle of Lex's back, pulling his hand away he stared at the red fluid covering it. `Blood. Oh, God. Nooo!' Clark quickly put his hand back to apply pressure to the large exit wound, hoping to slow the blood flow. 

"Call an ambulance!" Clark yelled in a high-pitched voice. 

The older Luthor had dragged himself off the floor and was now supporting most of his weight on his desk, while broken glass crunched beneath his feet. Lionel picked up the phone and shakily dialed 911. Clark could see him put down a Glock handgun next to were he was leaning. `What am I going to do?' Clark's mind reeled with the fact that he'd let Lex get hurt, bad. Why had he been so stupid to leave the room? 

Lex was turning into putty in his hands, gradually loosing the ability to stay upright. He'd always made it in time in the past, why not now? A flash of catching a bullet meant for the back of Lex's head flew across his mind, and the sound of Lex's labored breathing brought him back to the present. 

Clark backed up a bit and his friend's shirt opened to reveal the smallish wound on the front of Lex`s chest. He quietly examined it. The dark mark looked strange, and upon further examination, he could see the entry hole's edges were quite jagged and there were strange burns and power tattooing in the skin around the bullet hole. A deep wave of fury washed over him as he realized that Lionel must have shot Lex at point blank range. `Why?' Knowing that venting his anger out on that bastard wouldn't help Lex in any way, he pushed back his rage. 

Clark used his x-ray vision to deeply scan into the hole and to his distress; he could see the massive damage within. The bullet had first ripped through Lex's left lung then hit the left ventricle. Why did he remember these facts from Biology class now? The left ventricle was the most vital section of the heart. `Fuck!' He could visually see as Lex's lungs where quickly filling up with blood. The veins and tissues surrounding Lex's precious heart were beginning to swell. His heart was barely beating and Clark knew that it going to stop soon and then... Oh God no! 

Tenderly, he lowered his friend to the ground, causing Lex to whimper. Why couldn't he have a more useful power like Cyrus' healing? Looking down, he noticed that Lex seemed to be fighting to stay conscious. 

His friend was barely breathing, and his lips had started to turn blue from the lack of oxygen. Clark wanted to scream, rage, weep and curl into a ball to die. He could feel an invisible jagged knife, tearing him up inside, stabbing his own heart. 

Leaning down till their faces where a few inches apart, Clark said something he didn't believe, "You're going to be ok-" 

Lex cut him off with a press of his soft lips against his, "No, I'm not." 

"Please don't leave me." Tears began streaming down his face. 

One drop fell onto Lex's nose and it proceeded to make its way down his face, his friend frowned murmuring, "I'm sorry." 

"No, it hurts, so much. Please..." Breaking, he was going to break. 

Lex smiled, blindly staring towards his face, he was barely able to force out three more words, "I... love you." Lex's eyes glazed over and he stopped breathing. He stopped everything. And it was scary how peaceful he looked. 

Clark heard his mom's voice in his head, `You can't save everyone.' Lex wasn't just someone, some person on the other side of the world. He was right here in front of him, and he meant the world to him, they had a destiny. 

"LEX!!" He howled in grief. "No! God, NO!" 

No, panicking was not good. He had to stay calm and think. Think, Clark, think. CPR, he had to do CPR. Yes, he was going to save Lex. The ambulance was coming, and it was not going to be much longer. `How long has it been?' Checking the time he was surprised to see that since he had heard the gun shot, less than five minutes had passed. Push air into his lungs, and make his heart pump blood. He'd saved Lex before, he could do it again. He can't die. 

He started to perform CPR and continued to do so until strange voices are vaguely heard in the background, and a hand touched his back. 

Blow, blow, push 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, crack, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, crack, 13, 14, 15, blow, blow, push, 1, 2, 3, crack, 4... 

The hand began to shake him forcibly, "Mr. Kent, you have to stop. We're here to take over." He looked up into the face of a male paramedic. Quickly he moved out of the way, scanning the room he was surprised to see it full of people. The whole area was full of turmoil. Someone pushed him out of the room, telling him to wait in the lobby. 

He whispered to them, "But, Lex needs me." 

He was led by a young female attendant to a chair down the hall. The same chair that he had sat in earlier, what seemed like ages ago, had patiently waited for him to return. He swore that it mocked him. Sitting down, he felt numb. 

A voice yelled loudly, "Clear." A zap of electricity sounded. It repeated over and over just like the sound of the gunshot that was still echoing in his head. Words, sounds, noises that meant so much, but the real meanings where lost to him. Lifting his hands to his face he sobbed quietly. The sensation of something sticky rubbing off into his cheeks made him glance towards his hands, and he vaguely became aware of the fact that they were covered in blood. 

Closing his eyes, he felt nothing. He was a hollow shell. 

"It wasn't supposed to end this way, Clark." That voice sounded too familiar, and finally a real emotion surfaced. Wrath. In the empty room, he let himself act out a fantasy that he had been having for some time. 

"You fucking bastard!" Clark hurled Lionel against the wall, smashing his head against it. "I heard what Lex said about how you touched him. You're one sick fuck. You're the one who should be dead now ... not him." 

Luthor moaned in pain, and Clark liked the sound of it. He wanted to make Lionel scream and beg. 

"What are you going to do? Kill me? That won't bring Lex back." A trickle of blood fell from Lionel's nose. "If you murdered me in cold blood, your conscience would haunt you forever." 

"Maybe it'd make me feel better that his murderer got his just rewards." Clark moved his hand to lay some pressure upon Lionel's neck. All he had to do was squeeze. "But, you have more to pay for than just murder, don't you? You made Lex suffer for years when he only wanted to prove himself to you. But, I won't kill you... I'll do much, much worse." 

"I didn't kill him. He shot himself." Lionel eyes were unfocused as his choked out, "You must have heard him threaten me. I have it on tape. He pulled out a gun and tried to shoot me. It was self-defence. I was barely able to turn the gun away from me. It must have gone off by accident." Struggling helplessly, Lionel fought to stay conscious. "I love my son. I'd never do anything to hurt him." 

"You're lying! Lex, didn't even have a gun on him." Whenever Lionel talked too much it usually meant that he was being deceitful in some way. And there was no way that he was going to believe that load of shit. "You'd say or do anything to save your own ass!" Leaning in until his mouth was right beside Lionel's ear, Clark whispered just loud enough for Lionel to hear: "But, nothing can save you from me. You have no idea how easy it would be to give you the tiniest little shake right now, and snap your spine. How does a life like that sound to you? With everyone looking down on the poor paraplegic trapped in his wheel chair, smirking at you with the knowledge that you're eye level to their crotch. And all those women, the ones you used after they slept with Lex, just to creep him out? How will it feel knowing the only way they would touch you is out of pity?" 

"You wouldn't- wouldn't do that." Thinking ever so quickly Lionel said, "If you indeed have all these amazing gifts. Why didn't you save Lex? It's your fault he's dead, not mine. You should have stayed in the room to protect him. Why didn't you come to the rescue sooner?" Lionel truly appeared upset that he hadn't, plus he was absolutely terrified of Clark. 

"Hey, what's that guy doing to Mr. Luthor?" 

Clark let go of him and watched as he fell half a foot to the floor. Lionel grabbed onto his neck where Clark had been, to some extent, strangling him. Luthor looked up at him with trepidation in his eyes. "Nothing is going to bring Lex back." 

No. Nothing. And, it was all his fault. Lex had been fine the last few days. `But today I wanted to have fun, and I made Lex take me to Metropolis.' Why hadn't he been in the room to stop Lex from getting shot? The wall of hate within him burst like a dam as the flood of grief hit him full force again. As a group of medics and secretaries began to gather nearby, Clark lost all energy for revenge. He didn't want to kill anyone. He just wanted Lex back. `Was that too much to ask for?' 

The building started to close in around him. Being in the presence of that thing masquerading as a human being made him want to vomit. Why was his vision failing him? He felt so dizzy. The walls were getting closer. They were coming for him. There was too many people staring and pointing at him. Lionel would have called the police as well. Would they arrest him? He had to be punished for his inability to act when it had counted the most. Finally, the feeling of claustrophobia became too much for him to bear, and he fled. 

The journey back to Smallville was its usual familiar blur. Dried wind-- swept tears covered his face as he approached his Fortress of Solitude. When he stopped in front of the barn, he dully became aware that it was a beautiful late afternoon. The sun shone in a brilliant light blue sky, while a few fluffy white clouds floated along around it. The day was warm just like the last few days had been, with hardly any wind and no chance of rain. `The last few days?' Clark's mouth opened to form a perfect o. Realisation had finally hit him, pushing through his grief filled mind, reminding him of the dream that been his life for the past five days. 

This was not forever. It would be Friday again tomorrow. `Please let it be Friday again tomorrow.' It had to be Friday again- for Lex's sake. Full of anxious energy at the thought that he might be wrong, Clark spent the rest of the evening wandering far way from anything that might dredge up any lingering unpleasant memories, or any real memories at all for that matter. 

While sitting in a sea of hay and meditating, he tried to clear his head. Unfortunately, the unfamiliar exercise seemed to make the hours last longer, even though he mostly felt emotionally numb. Finally feeling a bit of temporary peace, Clark stared up into the clear night sky, searching the stars for some kind of answer to all of his problems. He wouldn't be going to sleep tonight. The last time Clark checked it was slightly past one am, now a bit later while doing a perfect imitation of an insomniac wolf howling at the moon, sans howling, Clark was surprised when the sky and stars suddenly blinked out of existence. 

Day Six 

Clark stood in a sea of black nothingness, alone. It felt akin to being in the void of space, a freezing dark vacuum where you could drift for an eternity. A cold shiver ran up his spine. Out of nowhere, he could hear faint footsteps. Coming closer, they got louder and louder until they sounded like thunder in his ears. Abruptly it became silent again. A soft male voice began to speak; the words echoed and surrounded him making him want to desperately escape them. It was Lex. He asked why Clark had let him die. The voice assured him that he would never have purposely done anything to hurt Clark. That he had only ever wanted to protect him, to be Clark's friend. He asked him if they were friends. The verbal questions hit him like physical blows. Then Lex became more accusing and asked Clark why he had killed him, shouting out his name with an enraged question of, why? 

He woke up mutely screaming and choking on his parched throat. 

Not knowing how long he had lain there, Clark finally stirred after he heard his mother call him and question him on whether he was coming down to go to school or not. He sighed in relief, honestly happy to hear that question from her again. 

As he got cleaned up and dressed, he became determined to avoid yesterday's events. Lex should be alive today, and if he didn't see his friend or talk him into taking him to Metropolis, then Lex would stay alive. That tragedy had been all his fault. He had changed something, and it had caused pain and suffering to someone he deeply cared about. Today, his lack of action would prevent it from happening again. How ironic that his inaction is what had killed Lex in the first place. 

If only he could stop feeling so whole-heartedly depressed and worthless. And, if only he could stop seeing Lex die every time he closed his eyes. The only way he could think of stopping it would be to see Lex, but that was still a bad idea, why not call him? Hearing Lex's voice might make him feel better. 

Using his cell phone Clark dialed the number. Feeling his heart hammer in his chest so hard it almost hurt, Clark was left wordless when his friend's voice said, "Hello." Rudely hanging up and turning his phone off, wasn't a very nice thing to do, but Lex was alive. Yes, alive. That was all that mannered. Clark couldn't do any simple talk right now, if he'd said anything to Lex he would have starting crying again. `Lex is alive.' And his friend would stay that way if Clark didn't touch or see him or call him again. 

Once downstairs, Clark sat on his chair like a big lump of coal. Santa must have crossed him off the good little boy list last night. Swallowing repeatedly, the thought of eating revolted him. He could only stare and play with the pancakes on his plate, while the sound of the tragic earthquake news droning on in the background was easily ignored. 

"Honey, is something bothering you?" His mother was obviously quite worried about him, but he didn't care. 

"No, I'm just not hungry, is all. I better get going." He threw the uneaten food into the garbage, "Don't wanna be late." Like a zombie, Clark then grabbed his backpack and began walking towards the door dragging his feet. 

His mother called from behind his back, "Be sure to come home right after school, your father needs you to change the tire on the tractor." 

"Sure, why not." He mumbled back. 

School was horrifyingly predictable; the day was beginning to feel surreal. It was driving him mad having the day constantly repeat itself, and he felt ensnared by it. Like a fox with his paw caught in a trap whose only way of escape would be to eventually gnaw off its own foot. And in doing so, it would loose that part of itself forever. 

By the afternoon, his frustration had caused him to act out in ways that went against his normal personality. He didn't actively want to, but just couldn't seem to help himself. Pure emotion overriding any logical thought processes. 

First in English, after having his teacher snap at him about not paying attention in class, Clark bitterly complained that he already knew it all. 

"Prove it. Tell me what does Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy mean?" His teacher looked at him way too snidely for Clark's tastes. He'd show him. Maybe even show off a little too in the process. 

Getting up in front of the class, Clark held the play book in front of him and dramatically read it out loud in front of the whole class: 

"To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end  
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come..." 

It wasn't till around halfway through that Clark realized that Hamlet was indeed contemplating suicide and that the fear of death "the undiscovered country" is what held him back. How ironic that Hamlet felt like a coward at his own inaction. His teacher was highly impressed, when Clark told the class that information and asked him to sit back down. Clark smiled warily as he was going back to his seat, humbled by his own performance. Chloe and Pete silently kept looking in his direction, and he did his best to ignore them. There was way too much death and dying for him to take today. 

In Math class, he had tried harder to piss the teacher off, in order to make himself stop thinking about depressing stuff. It wasn't a good idea to keep thinking about what it would actually be like to die. He succeeded, after taking his hated exam crumpling it up into a tight ball and throwing it, using normal strength of course, at the teacher's head. It re-bounded off at least three feet before hitting the floor. 

"Mr. Kent, what is the meaning of this?" Bellowed the shocked teacher. 

Clark replied sarcastically, "I don't want to take the damn test?" 

Many of the students began to laugh, and a few brave souls started to clap. The teacher on the other hand was not amused, neither were Pete and Chloe. 

"I think you need to take a trip to the principle's office. Make sure you head straight there, for I'll be joining you shortly." 

"Okay." Clark felt a small thrill at his disobedience. Humming to himself as he walked down the hallway to the main office, he thought that this would be a nice change of scenery. 

By the time his math teacher arrived to the office, the man had become even more red-faced. It was quite entertaining to watch him puff out like a blow-fish. 

Perspiration was running down the side of the man's face as he finished telling the principal the details of Clark's uncouth actions, "Clark Kent was being _insubordinate_ in class. I won't tolerate such offensive behaviour in my classroom." Now staring directly at him the teacher demanded, "What do you have to say for yourself Mr. Kent?" 

"I'm having a very bad day. Get over it. It's not like I trashed the room." Clark shrugged uncaringly, "I'll stay for detention. But, I don't see what the big deal is." He lied. It would be a cold day in hell before he went to detention. 

The principal sighed, "Clark, this is a big deal. You know better than to assault your teacher. I'm going to have to inform your parents. Later, after I have spoken with them, we can discuss your punishment." 

He rolled his eyes, "Whatever." The desire to punch one of the two men was beginning to become bothersome. Saved by the bell, he quickly left the room with the excuse of having to eat lunch. It wasn't like they could keep him in there forever. 

Sulking off into the Torch, Clark was annoyed when Pete and Chloe showed up to pester him with their concerned questions. 

"Man, how much trouble are you in?" Pete stood the closest to him. 

"Nothing that I'm going to have to worry about." Clark hoped that by giving them the cold shoulder they'd take the hint and disappear. 

Chloe moved to glance at the computer screen where he was quickly typing something on to it, "Clark, if there's something bothering you... You know, you can talk to us, right?" 

"Ah huh." 

"Hello?" She waved her hand in front of his face, and he literally looked right through it and continued typing. 

Being preached to by his aggravating and annoying friend, made Clark want to grind his teeth. `She wasn't going to shut up was she?' Deciding to solve that little problem, Clark said, "Shut the hell up already. Can't you see that I don't want you here?" 

Her hurt expression only vaguely bothered him. `Mission accomplished.' 

"Pete, let's go. We're obviously not welcome here." 

In his peripheral vision, Clark could see Pete looking at him rather suspiciously, but his friend seemed to hesitate on saying anything incriminating in front of Chloe. `Good, get your high and mighty asses out of here already.' 

Defeated, they finally left with a rather loud huff from Chloe. They were probably quite upset and angry with him. `That's just too bad.' They should have taken the hint and left him alone sooner. 

Finally, some needed peace and quiet. He congratulated himself on doing such a good job of being an asshole. Pretending that they were simply not there just wasn't enough, and they'd needed a little extra motivation. Chloe, especially, could be quite persistent when she put her mind to it. It's not like he was mad at them, he just wanted to be left alone. 

Clark finished writing his rather morbid poem about death and posted it onto his Live Journal, pleased with the end result. As the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch, he stopped tapping his fingers on the computer screen. Getting up, he fumbled through some drawers until he found Chloe's laptop, and started searching the Internet for different kinds of porn. `Why not be more adventurous?' 

One site in particular caught his eye. A moving threesome of two men and a woman assaulted the screen. He watched as they double penetrated her, one lying under her with his dick up her crotch while the other man was standing doing her doggie style up the ass. `Now this is different.' Mesmerized he watched as the men began to touch each other more than the girl. He gasped at the thrill of seeing the guys kiss. 

Why did this turn him on? What was wrong with him? And how was he going to get rid of this tent in his pants? Confused at his response he logged out and checked the time. `Oh, too bad that class was almost over.' Unwillingly he started to walk towards his Biology classroom, which would still be empty, trying to act as if he didn't have a hard on. First, he starts dreaming about having sex with guys and now he starts to enjoy just a little too much watching guys almost having sex with each other. Please, let there not be a third notch on that list. 

Out of spite, he began to write in big and fancy letters, "Pete and Chloe are doing it" on the blackboard. 

A high-pitched shriek filled his ears as he finished crossing the second T. "What the hell is that!?" Chloe looked mortified at him. 

"It was going to be a surprise?" He almost accomplished the facade of innocence. 

"How dare you bring us into your own personal temper-tantrum!" Chloe pulled Pete over so that the two of them were standing within inches of his body. 

"Get out of my face!" Using more strength than he had intended to, Clark literally pushed them rather hard onto their asses. Quickly, he x-scanned them to make sure that they hadn't been injured. 

Pete yelped out, "Clark, what do you think you're doing. Have you gone mental?" 

"You know what? I can do whatever the fuck I want, and NO ONE can stop me. And Pete, I promise that it won't do you any good if you try to use some green kryptonite against me." Clark knew that his secret's mask had shattered in front of Chloe, which would cause her to question and analyse him further. That fact irritated him even more, and for a second he wondered where all his hate was coming from. 

"What's kryptonite? And why would he do that?" Chloe appeared almost pleased by his informational outburst. 

"Just leave me alone. You can't help. Nobody can help me." Clark wanted to either bawl his eyes out or destroy something. Walking towards the doorway, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. 

Pete just didn't seem to want to listen to his pleas; instead he grabbed onto Clark's red shirt and was somewhat able to pull him over to the side of the room near the far wall, only because Clark let him. Clark growled at the attempt at manhandling. 

"What's with you man?" Pete began to feel the side pockets of his jeans while actively searching the rest of his body with his eyes, for... 

"Pete! Stop it. I don't have that stupid ring. Damn, it was destroyed months ago." Clark pulled away from him further, "I can't believe you thought I was wearing it!" 

"What do you expect me to believe? You're not acting like yourself, that's for sure. So, what's your problem?" 

He sighed defeated, "You wouldn't understand." 

"Try me. Don't you know by now that you can tell me anything?" Pete sounded so sincere. 

Looking up he watched as Chloe started erasing the sentence off the board just as a few students begin to file into the classroom. Clark thought about it and came to the conclusion that anything was better than this, even when he could feel the irritation and hate pouring off of him in waves- he wanted to trust Pete. 

"Okay. Lex was-" He was cut off before he could say more. 

"God, Clark you're this upset because of that rich asshole? I can't believe-" 

"SHUT UP!" Oh, he had been so wrong. He became furious at the hurtful words, as the adrenaline began pumping through his veins the emotion felt like an unbelievable amount of power and pain. Clark wanted to hit Pete, almost in horror he could feel his hand make a fist and begin to move towards its target. 

_Smash_

The concrete wall beside Pete's head now had a large soccer ball sized hole in it, with his fist still in it. His actions had attracted the attention of several students nearby as a mob quickly gathered near Clark and his friends. He gawked as Pete began to back away from him with a look of outrage on his face. No, this was going wrong. Why was everything turning out to be so messed up? He was a good person. He so didn't deserve this crap. Shaking he could feel himself losing control even more. Staring too hard at the ceiling, he screamed as a large hole burned through it. 

The smell of smoke and falling debris filled the air. He tried to calm down, but after opening his eyes he was appalled to see a crowd of gawking students surrounding him. They all knew. The teenagers stared at him with a wide range of negative emotions. He was a- 

Someone on his left cried out, "It's another mutant freak!" and on his right he heard, "Monster!" 

A girl whispered, "These horrible abominations should be hunted down and exterminated. All they ever do is trash things or kill people." 

Looking around for a familiar face, all he could see were strangers. 

As Clark tried to back away from the horde of loud obnoxious people, he felt a wave of distorting dizziness- Everything seemed to be assaulting him all at once, finally making him snap. `How dare they mock and ridicule him? How many of these brats had he saved? What did he do to deserve this?' He knew now that this was going to turn out badly. 

"You wanna see a FREAK! I'll give you a freak." 

Then Clark slammed his whole body through the classroom wall sending him falling out into the hallway. `Hey, that was kind of fun.' Not worried about having to deal with any repercussions the next day, he continued on by pounding down another wall. And another. It felt so good to revel in the destruction of this prison of his. He barely noticed the people running and screaming to get out of his way. The cries of fright didn't seem real to him. This place wasn't real, and maybe if he destroyed the whole damn thing then this nightmare would end. Being here hurt him on the inside, but being anywhere else would have hurt so much more. 

`Why did I choose to come back to Smallville?' At least in Metropolis he'd been in control of his life, his own destiny. 

Jack Sawnson and a couple of his jock football player buddies that Clark barely recognized tried to subdue him to no avail, and it was a cheap thrill to send them flying down the hallway. 

Clark bitterly snarled, "You can't stop me." 

The fire alarm went off. The loud piercing noise instantly began to hurt his ears. Using his x-ray vision and super-speed he found all the alarm bells and instantly melted them with his eyes. Staring into his Math classroom he could almost hear it making fun of him. `Now where was I?' 

_Smash_

It was later, he didn't know how much later, but an uncertain amount of time had passed. He thought that he might have mentally blocked some of it out. Glancing around, he didn't remember doing half of the destruction around him. Most of the school was now a pile of smouldering rubble. At one point, the clamouring of people had almost stopped due to the fact that they had fled as fast as their normal legs could take them. Nevertheless, it could not last; more individuals had come to bother him. He longed for some sense of harmony to return within himself. It was distressingly absent. 

Men in uniforms holding guns had surrounded what was left of the Smallville High School. Amazingly, Clark had made sure not to hurt anyone during his rampage. Even in his slightly deranged state, he didn't want to actually kill anyone. Unfortunately for him, the police appeared to see him as a dangerous `would be' killer. 

"Put your hands up!" 

His conditioned responses to follow orders, made him involuntarily stop what he was doing and raise his arms high above his head. 

"Now, get on your knees, slowly lie down on the ground in front of you, and face forward." As the officer moved closer to him, Clark watched as his gun shook with fear in his hands. 

No way was he going to go to jail. He had been there before and didn't very much like it. 

"If I don't, will you shoot me?" Staring menacingly, he put his hands back down and began to walk towards the man. 

"Stop where you are!" A different voice shouted from behind him, "Don't move any closer!" 

It was a stand off. Clark wasn't going to back down, and at the moment the police didn't know what to do with him. Once again, Clark knew that it would not last long. Lunging forward, he felt the first bullets hit him in the back as his grabbed the shaking officer's gun and crushed it into dust. Wow, maybe he was on red kryptonite? He felt the same sense of missing something, like a part of his soul had been ripped out. 

"No one is going to tell me what to do." 

* * *

After super-speeding to Smallville's main street, Clark began walking towards the Talon about a half a block away. He knew that somewhere behind him the police where trying to find him. Let them try. No one could even see him when he went at top-speed. As Clark entered the Coffee shop, he acted as if his red shirt didn't hang off him in tatters, singed from fire when he'd blown up the biology lab, or that dust didn't fall from his hair. Generally, he looked like he had just been through a war. 

The Talon was sparsely populated, with only a few customers on the far side of the room. Before this whole repeating day thing had started to occur he had last seen Lana on Wednesday. They had an awkward conversation about her trip and on how she had sold the store, Sunday was to be the big closing day, and he had been invited to help _celebrate_. He hadn't talked to her the next day. It had felt like the final nail in the relationship coffin and he just didn't have the heart to see her again so soon. He found it strange that he had barely thought about Lana the last few days at all, but now he kind of did. He needed someone to make him feel better, to take his hurt and pain away. X-raying the room, he found her walking down the stairs talking to someone on her cell phone. He listened in, missing what the caller on the other end had just asked her. 

"No I haven't seen him. And I have no idea where he may have gone." She walked down into the main room and glanced up, instantly seeing him. "Clark! You look..." 

"Hi, Lana. Who are you talking to?" Clark leisurely sauntered up to her, and she mutely held the phone out towards him. Willingly he took it from her. 

"Hello. Hello? There's no one there." 

Her voice was full of concern when she asked, "What's going on?" 

"Nothing. I thought maybe we could talk a bit. I haven't seen you in a while." He moved to sit in a chair near where she was standing. Hearing some sudden urgently sounding whispers coming from the other side of the room, he glancing over and gave a bad-tempered look towards the annoying people. 

"W... We talked the day before yesterday." Surprised by her answer Clark glared at her, hoping to understand what she was talking about. Lana looked like she was going to puke she was so green. `Maybe she had the flu?' 

"For you maybe, not me." He continued sarcastically, "I haven't had the misfortune of forgetting everyday." 

"What are you talking about? Clark, you're scaring me." 

He was a bit confused. "Am I?" Lana continued to stare at him like he had grown a third eye. Finally, he took a good look at himself and remembered. It's amazing how fast the mind can repress traumatic events, some of them anyway. 

Quickly he apologized, "Sorry, I guess I kinda came out of the closet, so to speak." 

His eyes glazed over as he started to re-live some of the memories from the High School. Emotions swirled and bled together, causing him to continue talking in an emotionless monotone, "I don`t want you to start screaming. I don't like the screaming. It hurts my ears." Aimlessly, he got up and began to walk around the room. 

"What?" Lana looking panicked followed him. 

Clark frowned, "They left me. Chloe and Pete. I made them really mad at me and they left. I thought it was what I wanted. I was wrong." 

Lana tried to touch him, but he wouldn't let her. "Look, it can't be that bad. Do you want me to drive you home?" 

Clark sighed, "No, it's bad. I think I'm going crazy. I don't know what to do. There's nowhere for me to go." 

He fixed his super-hearing on the familiar sound of sirens approaching. 

Starting to become angry again, he yelled at the group of quickly leaving customers. "Did you call the police?!" They gave him one last terrified glance then took off through the front door and down the street. He continued to scream at them, his voice full of hate, "How dare they call them! They weren't supposed to find me." Banging his fist on a table, it legs cracked and splintered beneath his strength. 

Lana glared at him like he had gone mental, "What are you talking about? I don't hear anything." She seemed torn between being angry, afraid, or concerned. 

As his eyes darted suspiciously around the store, he began to feel paranoid, "Did you phone them? Is that who was on the phone?" 

"No! It was-" 

"I thought I could trust you!" He started to lose it more. The walls were starting to close in again, mocking and laughing at him for trusting or thinking that anyone was really his friend. 

"Clark, please calm down." She had backed almost all the way towards the rear entrance. "I'm your friend. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Do you want to call your parents?" 

"You know what I did, don't you?" He had pursued her and was now towering, in an intimidating way, over her. Lana was always so pretty, always so innocent. 

"N... no." 

"You're lying. You know I'm a freak." She backed away from him even further. "You've always wanted to know what I could do, so here I am." Clark super-sped to several places in the room, sometimes breaking something or using his heat-vision to melt an object, happily showing off his many abilities in front of her. He then grabbed a knife and Lana watched as it shattered violently after hitting him in the chest. "You see, I'm much worse than a freak of nature. I'm not even human. What trick do you want me to do for you next?" 

The Talon door was flung open, and she looked over his shoulder towards it unable to come up with any response. She wasn't his friend either. He had no friends. 

His anger vanished when he heard a familiar voice passionately call out his name. 

"Clark!" A dishevelled Lex dressed all in black stood in the doorway of the Talon looking paler than usual. It looked like he'd just run a marathon. 

Lana called out, "Thank God, you're here. I didn't know what I was going to do- Clark is... Something's wrong with him." 

Now it was Clark's time to back away, "Go away! You're not real! None of this is really real!" `No, before Lana wasn't talking to the police, she must have been speaking with Lex!' He couldn't think. He tried too, but it hurt too much. 

"Clark, of course I'm real." Lex slowly walked up to him-- like he was some sort of feral carnivorous animal. 

Lex looked so real. Clark could hear Lex's lungs breathing and his vulnerable heart thumping at an accelerated pace. And now, that he was standing but a few feet away Clark could smell him. He loved the way Lex smelled, especially after a work out. Clark could see himself holding his friend in his arms. His friend who was all covered in sweat and blood... the phantom vision of death mocked him. God, he couldn't stop remembering yesterday. 

"The Sheriff is going to be here in a few minutes. Clark, I'll try to get you out of here. I need you to-" Lex looked so concerned for him and it was so... 

"No. No! NO!" Clark fell to his knees and started laughing hysterically, reliving his recent stunt of pounding the high school into a pile of ruins, and then to the memory of Lex dead in his arms, which would not stop replaying in his head. A horrible sense of vertigo made him clench at his stomach and dry heave several times in between each deep breath. `Is this what having a nervous breakdown felt like?' 

The sensation of something warm touched his back, and he stopped laughing and quickly withdrew away from the contact. `Don't touch me Lex, or I'll hurt you.' 

"There was so much blood... everything is red... dark sticky red... it's on my hands, all over me... oh God! Get it off me." Clark ripped what was left of his shirt off. `Why did I wear a red shirt today? Never want to wear anything red again.' He threw it across the room while starting to sob uncontrollably. Curling into the fetal position on the floor, he wanted to pass out. "I'm so alone." 

"No. -never be alone." 

Lex's words became distant, and it seemed as though they were being spoken through molasses to his usually acute ears. In a vain attempt at ignorance, he shut his eyes closed tighter and tried to ignore the small bits that he did understand. 

From what he could hear, Lex's voice was full of authority and worry when he spoke to Lana, "-we have..." Shuffling of feet near his head, "... him out of here- now." 

Clark felt as two sets of hands grabbed his arms and begin to drag him across the floor towards the back exit. `God, the police sirens are so blaringly loud.' Even his regular hearing could hear them now. He forcefully cracked his eyes open to x-ray through the building, and he saw Lex's silver Lamborghini abandoned at the front of the store. Then red and blue lights started to reflect off the right side of the car. 

`Stop. Go away. Leave me alone.' 

"Lana, could... please give me- car keys... him out- Smallville... going to Metropolis." 

"Sure. ...parked in- alley. -going to pack up some... stuff after work." There was a clanking of metal, "- take them." 

"Thank you." No, he didn't want to hear that. Lex and Lana sounded way too friendly with each other. Would they start hugging and kissing each other next? God, he was so jealous. But of who: Lex or Lana? 

Clack listlessly shook his head. `Please, someone make the world go away.' 

He was being dragged again. `Maybe I should fight back? I don't wanna go to Metropolis.' He struggled half-heartedly for a few seconds before anything even remotely resembling strength was sucked out of him. A few words of encouragement were easily ignored. The opening of a door and a waft of musty smelling alleyway air told him that they had finally managed to get him to the Talon's back door. Just in time, as he heard faint foots steps of too many people enter the building behind him. He felt Lana turn and leave them alone at the back of the store to most likely tell the police some sweet and oh so innocent lies. 

Holding in a shallow breath, Clark opened his eyes slightly one last time, only to be slapped with further guilt at the look on Lex's face. The colossal amount of fear on his friend's face made him want to hide in one of the deepest caverns in the earth. Grateful as his peripheral vision began to unnaturally fade and darken Clark, continued to hold his breathe. 

"Help me." Were the last words he heard before it all went blissfully black. 

* * *

He woke up. There was a wool plaid blanket wrapped around his naked upper body, and he was in the back seat of a moving car. The skin beneath his eyes was tight and crusty, after rubbing his face and making some kind of groaning noise the car's driver spoke. 

"I hope you're feeling better, Clark. You had me a bit worried." He could see Lex peer at him in the rear view mirror. "You've been out for over an hour." 

"I..." What could he possibly say? `I'm fine', wasn't going to cut it. Why did Lex care so much to the point of aiding a felon? Oh yeah, Lex loved him. 

"Lex, why do you love me?" A slight gasp was heard coming from his friend. 

"Clark, there's something wrong with you. I'm taking you to my penthouse in Metropolis." Lex's right hand moved backwards a foot, like he wanted to touch Clark, "Please, just try to relax on the way there. I'll make sure nothing happens to you." Wow, what a pro. Lex's voice had only altered a fraction while saying his first sentence. 

Pussy, Lex was a big old scaredy-cat. He knew there was no way Lex was going to directly reply to his question, but it would have been nice. 

Lex's driving had definitely sped up; he could tell that his friend was driving the `cheap car' well above its recommended limits. Wouldn't it be funny if they got a flat tire or the radiator over-heated? He was so warped. 

They didn't. 

The tall buildings and busy streets made Clark nervous, and he wanted to get inside and away from the crowds as fast as possible. He wasn't sure that letting himself be taken back to Metropolis was really such a good idea. Having no intention of returning to the scene of the crime so soon after his friend's death, he shuddered and thought about running to Canada. It really didn't make sense to him: how can you mourn the passing of someone when they're sitting alive a few feet away? 

They pulled up to the front of a rather classy building, and what appeared to be a valet started walking to the car looking a tad displeased. It was now early evening and Clark was beginning to feel ravenous. He hadn't eaten a single thing all day. 

"Lex, have you talked with your Father today?" He pulled the blanket around himself tightly. 

Turning to look at him Lex replied, "No, why do you ask?" 

"Well if he calls don't answer it. I don't want you to leave me, even for him." 

"I promise." Lex once again looked so deep with worry and... God, he really cared about him that much? For a moment Clark could clearly see into his friend's soul, and his eyes had such sincerity and warmth in them, directed at him. It was quite comforting. 

_Bang Bang_

"Excuse me, Sir, but this is private property, and you are not allowed to park here." The snobbish valet had made the mistake of looking at him and not at Lex. Clark watched as all trace of warmth vanished from Lex's face. 

Lex turned and opened his door having to use it to push the man out of his way. "You're fired." 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor, I didn't know it was you." The guy was horror stricken and Clark couldn't help feeling a bit bad for him. To face Lex Luthor's wrath would be on anyone's `top ten' list of things never to do. He almost told Lex not to worry about it, knowing that his friend would almost certainly do as he asked. But what was the point? 

Lex stood to his full height of six feet. "It doesn't matter if you knew me or not. You are not to talk to anyone like that. It was rude and uncalled for. Go find someone else to park my car." The keys were tossed at the guy's head, and he was barely able to catch them before they hit him in the face. 

The man hustled his suit-clad ass back inside the building. Clark smiled at the thought of how many people Lex had under his thumb, and in a few years time the amount could easily more than triple. He had no idea why that was funny. Maybe it was funny in a kind of scary way? 

"I'm glad you find it amusing." Lex opened his door and gestured for him to come out. 

"You'll never see me do that. I`m never going to be your servant boy." 

"Ah, now all my hopes have been dashed." They both looked surprised after Clark stopped laughing. 

"Do you think you can carry me out? I don't think I can make it." Damn, joking was nice, even in its wrongness, but he honestly didn't want to leave the back seat. It felt so much safer than outside. Then he saw something. On the other side of the street a blonde couple were walking hand in hand, appearing perfectly normal and sweet together. He definitely recognized the woman and man from the Italian restaurant the day before, who could forget something like that? 

Clark practically jumped out of the car to get a better look. 

"What are you doing?" Lex sounded a little apprehensive behind him. 

"That woman in the pink dress, I think she's important." 

"Important?" 

"Yeah." He used his super-hearing hoping to catch something significant. How it is that fate had brought her near him yet again? Please let it mean something. Some of the things she had said and done that day had been so odd and frightening. 

Once again they were dressed rather classy. She wore an evening gown while he was in a black suit and tie. 

"This was a great idea. I heard `Aida' has won several Tony's. It should be a good musical." The man kissed the woman's cheek and she smiled brightly. 

"It was nothing. Sometimes being a little bit impulsive can be exciting." 

"Today was more than a little impulsive. We both `played hooky.'" He laughed and nibbled on her ear, "You'll always be exciting to me." 

Wearing an expression of pure contentment and a bit of lust she replied, "I'll do anything for you. I promise that nothing will ever tear us apart." 

"Why do you say that?" He appeared slightly worried. 

"Because, I want to always be with you. Michel, you are my heart and I can't live without the other piece of my soul." 

"I won`t ever leave you." 

She looked so sad when she replied, "I know." 

Michel looked like he wanted to comfort her, "I'll always love you." 

The couple hugged each other briefly before continuing on towards the nearby theater. 

Feeling a tad peeping-tomish over listening to something so intimate, Clark just couldn't believe how different Elizabeth was acting. `Mood swings?' 

"Clark?" Lex shook him back to their reality. "Let's go inside." Some of the people walking past them on the street had begun to gawk and point at them. This promptly reminded Clark how crappy he looked and getting out of the public view was a very wise suggestion. 

His mind wandered elsewhere until Lex opened the door to his suite letting him enter first. How often did Lex say he stayed here? As Clark walked into a massive, very bland living room, his friend quickly made a phone call. Trying not to eavesdrop he barely heard the word _clothes_. His own, made up of tattered jeans, shoes, socks and underwear, were beyond ruined and he hoped that it meant he would be getting some new ones soon. 

"Do you want to contact your parents?" Lex held the phone in an offering gesture. 

Clark's eye's widened in dismay at that horrible thought, "No. I just want to stay here with you." 

"I'll make sure to let them know that you are alright." 

"Thanks." Thoughtfully wandering around, Clark noticed the lack of personal items and colors everywhere. "This place is very... nice." 

"Ah yes, it still has that Spartan feel to it. Just before being exiled to Smallville I sort of took it upon myself to redecorate. I must admit the mess afterwards was impressive by my own high standards. I remember Dad saying how costly my _hissy fit_ had been, but it was worth it. Half that stuff, if it had survived, wouldn't be me anymore anyway." 

"Was it fun?" 

Lex traced a small indent on the side of the wall in a type of reminiscent way. "Yes." 

"I wasn't having fun." Clark felt ashamed. 

Lex abruptly turned his head towards him, understanding dawned on his face. 

"What I mean is... I didn't do it to have fun." 

"I know." Lex quickly appeared in his personal space, looking at him with kindness and concern. Clark felt weird at this new form of closeness. He had never let himself be openly vulnerable to his friend like this before. 

"Don't you want to know why?" 

"Yes, but not now. I think you should have a nice relaxing shower and something to eat first." 

Clark became quite uncomfortable. `Do I smell that bad?' And why was he worried about that being a problem? Concrete dust, fibreglass, dirt, gun power plus other unknown substances covered his body. Using water to wash away ones sins was as old as it was clichd, but he was resolved to the fact that Lex was going to be taking care of him tonight. And maybe water, and a ton of soap, could wash away a bit of his disgrace. His self-consciousness would just have to suck it up a bit. 

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." 

Lex pointed, "It's the third door on the right. There's a bathrobe inside, and there will be some clothes brought up for you shortly. What would you like to eat?" 

"Surprise me." Clark lightly rested his hand on Lex's left shoulder and smiled, "Thank you for everything. You're my best friend." 

Lex returned the smile and put his own hand onto Clark's arm, gently squeezing, he said, "I would do anything for you." 

"I know." 

Clark felt like a refugee in a strange-land while walking down the corridor. This place was so foreign and sterile. There were no lively pictures on the walls and no beautiful works of art on any of the tables. It most certaintly didn't have the _lived in_ feel about it. It was as if Lex had moved out and had taken every piece of himself with him, leaving the place devoid of his special presence. He wished it didn't bother him so much. 

The plaid blanket fell to the floor, and he stared into the mirror examining himself. The bullets hadn't left any marks this time. Just two years ago, there still would have been painful bruises, like that time when Lex had involuntarily tried to pump him full of the deadly projectiles. Soon, nothing from earth would hurt him. Nobody would be able to stop him, unless they knew his weakness. No one had stopped him today. 

The scalding water flowed down his spine after pounding onto the back of his neck. Slowly, his tense muscles began to loosen as he worked the lather into his hair. He sighed at the soothing sensation of heat and water, as his empty stomach began to give a rather loud complaint. Lex's surprise had better be good. 

He stepped out of the large opaque glass compartment to find a neatly piled stack of clothes near the door. Sneaky. Quickly, he dried off and rinsed his mouth out with some gross yellow Listerine. A pair of dark grey sweat pants, soft navy blue socks, royal blue T-shirt, and plaid boxers now clothed him. They all fit perfectly. Did Lex break into his room while he was out and catalogue all his sizes? Clark openly laughed at the thought. 

He left the bathroom and swiftly went to join Lex in the other room. Hearing his friend talking with an unidentified person at the front door made him stop with apprehension in mid-step. `Lex wouldn't have asked anyone over, would he?' After the door closed, Clark peered around the corner to make sure the other person had left. He saw Lex standing alone holding a large square box, which had a very unique delicious smell coming from it. 

"Pizza!" 

Lex looked at him with an amazing grin on his face. 

"Dig in." 

"Have I told you lately how much I love your surprises?" Clark was within an inch of grabbing the box. 

"Never." His friend was positively pleased. 

Clark had insisted that they sit on the floor in front of the TV to eat. Lex had insisted on plates and many napkins. After inhaling over half of the meat-lovers deluxe on his own, Clark had began to sift through Lex's sizeable DVD collection. Just his luck that it was perfectly alphabetized. What a nerd. Most he had already seen, fortunately they both loved Fantasy and Science Fiction, they made up more than half of the large collection. One older movie that he hadn't seen before caught his eye and after reading the synopsis he just _had_ to see it. 

"Can we watch this one?" He held it up for his friend to easily see. 

Lex barely glanced at the title `Groundhog Day' before answering, "Sure, Clark. Whatever you want." 

His friend had become distant after receiving an unpleasant phone call during dinner. The FBI had asked Lex if he knew about Clark's current whereabouts and had warned him that Clark was extremely dangerous. If he saw the Kent boy, he was to call them immediately. Lex had sworn that he hadn't. Then they had proceeded to threaten him with the fact that he still didn't have any concrete evidence against his father. To Lex, jail time seemed to loom right around the corner for both of them. Clark pretended that he hadn't heard, in order to see how Lex would react and not wanting to deal with a confrontation yet. 

He inserted the DVD, "Do you have any popcorn?" 

"No. I can get some if you'd like." Lex was definitely distracted as he barely looked towards Clark's general direction. 

"That's ok." Clark sat down, much closer than usual, next to Lex. Their thighs lightly touched. Lex didn't seem to notice as he stared at the screen with a fixed rational and yet over-thinking look about him. 

Please let them not have _the talk_ now. He knew it was coming. Just like on a warm summer day after arriving at a special destination, a lakeside beach for example, with your family and closest friends, when you look up into the sky and see dark rain clouds. No matter how much you wish they would change direction or cease to exist they continue to drift closer to your location until they finally dump rain, and sometimes hail with torrents of wind down upon you. Ruining the moment. 

"Are you alright?" 

Lex appeared to be mildly irritated at his question, "I thought you wanted to watch this?" 

"You know I should crown you as the King of Evading Questions." 

Lex answered morosely, "No, my father's the King of that." 

"Fine. How about the Queen?" He tried to smile cheekily. 

Lex looked at him and grinned, "Then what would that make you?" 

"The Jester." Clark smiled and tried to give an intimidating pose, hoping to cheer Lex up a bit. 

Lex chuckled a bit as some of the warmth returned to his eyes. They looked at each other in mutual understanding before Lex said, "Please, let's just watch the movie." 

It was an interesting premise. Some mean reporter man was more or less made to learn the error of his ways by having to re-live Groundhog Day over and over. He highly enjoyed it until near the end when he was pissed to see that there had been no real solution to Bill Murray's character repeating day predicament. So what, he'd found true love? Now, everything was going to be hunky-dory? Oh yeah, that would totally make his living hell stop. 

As the end credits began to roll, he saw in his peripheral vision Lex start to dial on his cell phone on the other side of the room. He had noticed when his friend left his side and, at the time, he had almost complained about the missed company. It was going to happen now. Lex shouldn't have to be calling anyone because of him. He used his super-speed to magically materialize at Lex's side, surprising him. 

"You don't have to worry about fixing my mistakes. I'm not going to jail." 

Lex lowered the phone, "I'll find a way to discredit the police and any of the students or teacher's statements. You're right, the authorities won't get anywhere near you. Do you know if you were caught on camera at all?" 

"Lex, I know that you're trying to protect me. But, you have your own troubles with the FBI. You can`t burden yourself more with my problems." 

Looking offended that Clark had questioned his abilities he replied. "I'm dealing with that just fine." Lex's expression then softened. "And, you will never be a burden to me." 

"I could help with that. I could find a way to incriminate your father. He's a murderer you know." Lex appeared to be shocked at the open hate in Clark's eyes, "He deserves to be punished." 

"Clark, I can't let you get messed up in all this as well. You have enough to worry about." 

"I already am." Clark was a bit flustered at being led off topic. "What I did today is not going to have any repercussions for me or anyone else." He took Lex's phone and put it on a nearby table. 

"You can't say that." Showing how stressed he was, Lex ran his left hand across the top of his bald head. Clark had to make him understand that he was telling the truth. 

"Yes, I can. That movie, I picked it for a reason." Clark gestured at the screen, "That has been my life for the last week. I guess, I snapped a bit from the strain today from having to re-live everything over and over again. I almost wish that I was crazy and that it's all in my head, but I don't think so." 

Lex looked like he wanted to believe him, but still appeared sceptical. "You've said some really peculiar things to me today, and I know what you did, at the high school." 

They stood so close together he could have nipped Lex's nose. 

"Yeah, well I'm really peculiar." Clark sighed. "I was messed up. Still am a bit. You've helped me so much today, just by being there for me. You are such a great person and friend." 

The room was quiet as they allowed a moment for reflection. 

Clark gave him _the look_ that said he was offering the world, "Do you want to know now?" 

Lex seemed hesitant to answer. He looked both fascinated and fearful at the prospect of finding out the truth. "Yes." 

"Everything you have ever thought about me is true. I'm a scary super being from another planet that was sent to take over the world. See, my destiny pretty much sucks too." 

Belle Reve. That place and its revelations had shown Clark how Lex could and did react to his secrets. Lex had been happy. Amazingly he hadn't told anyone. No, he just wanted Clark to help him escape, but who could blame him? This role-reversal thing was strange. Now, it was Clark who was getting his sanity questioned by Lex, not the other way around. And unlike before, he now had the knowledge that Lex wouldn't remember this time either, even if he wanted his friend to. 

For the first time, Clark wondered what was so great about being normal anyway? It would make things a lot less interesting, maybe even down right boring. This was exciting in a way that being normal would never bring him. And how can something feel so terrifying, yet be exciting at the same time? 

Looking terribly upset, Lex didn't meet Clark's gaze. "Clark, I truthfully don't know what to say. So much has happened with you today, and I don't know what to believe. I am..." 

It was his fault that Lex was hurting. How can he make it better? 

"Believe me." He affectionately hugged Lex feeling his friend's body stiffen at the contact. Turning his head Clark softy said into Lex's ear, "Please don't hate me. I want to tell you everything, and I have all night to do it." 

Lex gave him is slight nod. He seemed so fragile right now, like exquisite crystal on the edge of shattering when too high a note had been played for too long. How stressed had Lex been today because of him? He had been so thoughtless about everything during his grief, and not only strangers had paid the price but so had his family and friends. `What kind of person did that make him?' 

Clark gently led Lex to the leather love seat, "Here, let me start at the beginning..." 

He told Lex everything. From the day they had first met, no longer denying to Lex the fact that he had hit Clark with his Porsche, all the way up to the present. Super-speed, strength, and hearing as well as x-ray and heat vision-- why did that list continue to get longer? The fact that trucks and bullets could hit him and practically bounce off really amazed Lex, while disappearing and letting his drugged friend be taken to Belle Reve had gotten Lex quite incensed. 

All the unimportant stuff was left out, like most of his intimate experiences with Lana and Chloe, and his families' discussions. Some details had been forgotten, but more or less the essentials were now known. It was finally all out in the open, including what had happened yesterday. Clark felt so relieved to be able to temporarily let all of his burdens go. He left one major point out of his confession that being anything having to due with kryptonite. That topic was still a little too touchy for him to reveal. 

During parts of his long confession, Lex had gone from looking intrigued and excited to infuriated or distressed. 

Clark finally finished with, "And I believe the day starts to repeat again sometime after one am." And unfortunately it was going on eleven pm. The worst part about watching Lex was right now when Clark could see his friend realise that all of this was for naught hitting him that very instant. 

A royally pissed off Lex stood up in anger and snarled out, "I'm going to forget this all tomorrow!?" 

"Yes, but I swear this means so much to me. You have to imagine how utterly alone I am!" Clark was on the verge of tears. He was sure that Lex hated him now, some of the things he had done and not done deserved repentance. "I`m so confused, and I wish that you, at the very least, could stay the same tomorrow. I want you to. I need you to help me." 

"I don't know if I can." Lex seemed defeated, staring up into the black skylight as the half moon shone dimly above them. "Today's almost over." 

"You can still help me tomorrow." Even if he had to tell this all over again to Lex, much sooner in the day, it would be worth it. Clark put his arm around his friend's waist and peered up into the sky as well. Absently he spoke out loud, "I wonder if there were any shooting stars tonight?" 

Lex whispered, "The stars fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind." 

How Lex loved to quote strange phrases from ancient people. 

His friend seemed to be in a whole other universe, "One of the visions from St. John the Divine in the early 1800's, a huge meteor storm fell, causing the people to repent and pray that the world wasn't ending. That's how it felt for me, but shooting stars can at least be pretty. I bet you were the brightest star that day." 

Contemplating what Lex said, Clark was surprised to realize how long the two of them had been strangely connected. It must have been destiny to meet in Smallville during two such traumatic situations. Meteor shower and car crash, two new beginnings. 

At last, Lex returned his embrace slowly rubbing his hand up and down Clark's back. "All I've ever wanted was for you to be truthful with me." 

"I will be, I promise." And he meant it. From now on, he was going to do anything in order to stop this madness. 

"That lady you described from the restaurant, Elizabeth Hoffman? She might be a lead." Lex just couldn't stop thinking, even if his life depended upon it. 

"I'll make sure you investigate her, thoroughly." 

After hearing that last comment Lex smirked. "What do you want to do now?" 

"Honestly? I'm exhausted." Clark smiled, "I bet you have a wonderful king sized bed too?" 

"Of course. Top of the line." 

"Is it the bowling-ball bed?" 

Lex laughed, "Well I haven't done any bowling on it lately." 

"Lex? Would you sleep with me tonight?" Clark looked at Lex with silent longing, "You know in bed with clothes on. I don't want to be alone." The thought of sleeping with his best friend wasn't anywhere close to being sexual to Clark at that moment. It was all about trust and companionship. He wanted to feel Lex next to him, if only for a few hours, and he would know that he really wasn't alone. 

"I'd love to." 

Day Seven 

The shock of being hit by a dump-truck of horrible emotions caused Clark to tremble and lose his ability to stay upright. A deep sadness and despair had overtaken him, making him fall to his knees on his bedroom floor wallowing in absolute misery. Life wasn't worth living anymore if it felt this bad. Why should he continue to try? Strong arms wrapped around him, soothing him, while a soft voice shushed him to quietness. Looking over he saw his friend, who continued to assure him that everything was going to be fine. He felt loved and smiled, feeling comforted by the fact that he was not alone. This was wonderful. Clark stroked his right hand down the side of the other person's face and whispered, `Thank You.' 

He woke up and glanced around the empty bed and floor. "Lex?" 

The small single bed and ten by ten foot room had never looked so big before. Sitting up and turning off the alarm, he could almost smell his mother's pancakes cooking. He quickly showered and dressed, picking out a new-ish royal blue T-shirt and dark grey pants to wear. 

Today was going to be a good day. He felt rejuvenated and ready to take on this problem from a whole new angle, and he knew that there was now someone who was going to help him. Lex. Thinking further, he also decided to ask Chloe to try to find the restaurant woman while at school as well, but there was no way that he planned on going anywhere near that building today. Smallville High was going to be off-limits for a while. Wow, had he done a little more than blow off some steam yesterday. If Lex hadn't stopped him, Clark wasn't sure what else he would have done to Lana or to the police when they would have showed up again. Shoving that unpleasant thought away, he tried to stay positive, and he was, even after having a faint dizzy spell after he got to the bottom of the stairs. 

"Hi Mom, how are you doing?" He smiled and gave her a big hug and kiss, causing his mom to blush at the unusual amount of attention. 

"You're in a good mood this morning." She appeared to be gauging what looked different about him this morning. Perhaps mothers have some hidden radar? 

"Is there something wrong with that?" Clark poured himself a huge glass of orange juice. 

"Of course not." She gave him an amused glance, "Are you going out on a date with Lana tonight?" 

He inhaled some of the liquid up into his nose and choked out, "No. Why would you say that?" 

"Oh, no reason." His mom gave a secretive smile, which he tried to ignore. 

After making short work of changing the tire and pretending to leave for school, Clark quickly arrived at the Luthor mansion, and patiently waited for Lex to finish his important phone call. It had been easy to ask Lex to have a nice sit down talk with him so early in the morning. His friend had seemed eager to speak with him, in an extremely quiet and reserved way that Clark pretended not to notice. Sitting next to Lex while staring at the unlit fireplace, Clark decided to start off the conversation in a typical Clark-like matter. He didn`t want Lex to think he had drastically changed over night. 

"Lex, what would you do if you had to re-live the same exact day over and over again?" 

"It would have to depend on which day." Lex gave him a very dry calculating look. 

Clark continued in his typical manner. "Today." 

"Today? Well, first I'd try to find the answer as to why it was happening-" 

"Yeah, but when the day restarts everyone forgets about it. If you try to write anything down or record any new data anywhere at all, it disappears after the day ends. And you're the only one that you know of that it's happening to." Clark blurted out then realized Lex would no longer believe his hypothetical questioning any more. 

It was that `this is happening to a friend of mine speech', where the friend was really you that Clark and Lex had so many times; there was no way for Lex not to recognize it. Embarrassed, Clark blushed a bit while at the same time trying not losing his nerve. Clark maintained eye contact, continuing to watch for Lex's reactions. 

"Okay. I can still remember the information myself right?" Even though his expression was completely neutral, Clark could see Lex's eyes shine with intelligence. 

"Yes." 

"Well there's usually a very logical solution behind every problem, you just have to know where to look." Smiling a bit, Lex began to appear generally intrigued with Clark's questioning. 

"But how?" 

"I would find it quite hard to believe that I was the only person on earth that this was happening to, and frankly something would have to be causing it. Unless of course it was all in my head, and nothing amiss was actually happening." Lex sighed and finally looked at Clark quite seriously, "This isn't a theoretical question now, is it?" 

"No, I really need your help." Butterflies were definitely trying to make their way out of his stomach. Lex should have no problems believing him today, it wasn't like he had recently, to his friend's knowledge, gone psycho or anything to merit any unusual disbelief. And Smallville had by now thrown about a dozen meteor mutants and other strange phenomena at Lex already. 

"How can I help you?" 

"Well, first I thought maybe we could shoot some pool or go swimming and spend time together, because this repeating day thing is really getting on my nerves and I would really like a way to blow off some steam in a safe way." Clark said the last bit with a trace of self recrimination. It was also a bit odd at how Lex's eyebrow shot up at the word `safe.' Deciding that the time was right to ask Lex for what he actually wanted, Clark went for it, "And maybe you could get some people to research a woman by the name of Elizabeth Hoffman for me? You know, find out were she lives and works, and where she was born, her age and medical records would be great too!" 

Taken aback, Lex asked, "May I ask why?" 

Clark was really starting to enjoy himself, "Wow, I thought we already discussed that part?" 

Lex gave him one of those beautiful _what the fuck_ looks that Clark was growing to like just a wee bit too much. 

"You know the having to re-live the same day, figuring out why that's happening mostly by yourself, and then doing something about it. And, I'm almost positive that I'm not crazy. Hell, yesterday you even agreed with me that we should look her up. You can't argue with yourself now can you?" Why was he toying with Lex, and why was it so much fun? 

A bright smile finally lit up Lex's face and he chuckled mildly. "You had me there for a minute." 

That's why. Lex's seriousness had been bothering him, and instinctually he'd done something to change it for the better. He wanted to see his friend smile. 

"But, Lex I'm an extremely bad liar. I know that." Clark let his grin turn into a charming smile, "I'm not that stupid. And I wasn't lying." 

"Joking and lying are two different things." 

"You're right, and this Friday I plan on only doing the `J' one with you. Lying can go take a hike. I'm your open book, but with only one rule. If you read me, then I'm allowed to read you." 

Lex appeared willing if also a bit wary to take on that challenge. 

"I'll get someone to look into one `Elizabeth Hoffman' immediately. I need a couple hours to finish off some work. If you would like to take a dip in the pool, be my guest, but I don't think I'll be joining you." His friend didn't appear to deem it necessary to ask why Clark wasn't in school. Good. 

"Sure, that'd be great." He smiled knowing that there would be some swim trunks waiting for him by the pool's entrance. 

Lex tilted his head giving him one last calculating look before leaving the room. "I'll meet you for lunch around noon." 

It had been a bumpy start, and Clark was saddened to realise that as long is it stayed Friday it would always be a rough start. Now matter how super-friendly they were with each other at the end of the day before, Lex wouldn't be like that with Clark again that next morning. His friend over the last year had become guarded and aloof, even with him and it would have been pointless to pine over something he couldn't change right now. 

It was now obvious that he couldn't change anyone permanently. Everyday they would start off exactly the same as the day before, and only he, Clark Kent, could adapt and change. He had to be able to find a way to use it to his advantage. As long as Friday ended and the weekend came, Clark could be happy if he wanted to be- if he let himself be. 

Several hours later, after a relaxing and thoughtful swim in the outdoor pool alone, Clark changed back into his clothes and called Chloe's cell phone on his way to the dining room. 

"Clark, where have you been?" 

He tried to sound exhausted. "I'm sorry, but something Smallville strange has come up, and I really need your help." 

Chloe's voice sounded concerned, "What do you need?" 

"I need as much information about a woman named Elizabeth Hoffman that you can find." 

"Is that her married or maiden name?" He could hear her typing the information into her computer. 

"I don't know, but I think she lives in Metropolis." Would it be hard to find out a woman's maiden name? 

"Well, if this is Smallville `wall of weird' you're talking about. I'll double check to see if she has any connection to here." 

"That would be a good idea." Lunch was promptly being placed on the table in front of him, French toast, hash browns, pancakes, sausages, eggs, ham, and fruit. He started serving himself, hearing Lex walking down the hall, but didn't take any of the pancakes. 

"No problem. Is there anything else?" 

"Not at the moment." Clark smiled and waved as Lex entered the room. 

He could hear Pete greet Chloe in the background before she asked, "Will you be able to make your afternoon classes?" 

"I don't think so. I'm very busy right now. You can lend me your notes tomorrow." 

He heard her make a loud knowing laugh, "Yeah, I bet you are. I'm pretty sure I know where you are right now." 

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Clark practically whined as Lex gave him a questioning look. "Never mind, I've gotta go. Talk to you later. Bye." He hung up just after hearing Chloe return his bye, which she had said in an annoying long drawn out way. Women. 

Lex smiled, "Let me guess, that was Chloe?" 

"You read mind's fearfully too well. Or you bugged the phone." 

Chuckling, Lex leaned over the table handing Clark a blue folder. "This is all they could find at the moment. I'm sure that there's sufficient information here, if not let me know." Lex sat across from him and they made short chitchat while they ate together. Why did Chloe always act like she knew some kind of inside information that didn't exist about his personal life? `Reporter's instinct. Right. More like nosey-having-to-know-it-all-friend.' 

"Thanks." 

Clark spent the next few minutes shoving food into his face like a starving boy and trying to look at the files at the same time. After almost spilling purple grape juice on the folder he picked it up and put it on a nearby table. Feeling surprisingly joyful Clark, on impulse, threw a grape at Lex, hitting him directly between the eyes. 

"You know I'm going to get you back for that." Rubbing the wet mark, Lex appeared to look angry. 

Clark absently replied, "As long as it's not the eggs, I won't mind." 

"Egg phobia?" 

"I've had a long and tragic past with them. Runny, poached, scrambled, and easy-over, oh the scars that they've left on my psyche." Clarkwiped his mouth with a napkin hiding a veryevil grin from Lex. 

"I'm so glad you've decided to tell me the truth about something so near and dear to your heart." 

"No problem. What are friends for?" Clark said it like he meant it. 

Lex went quiet for a moment before asking, "So, the day we first met. Did I hit you with my car?" Appearing to dare Clark to lie, Lex stared at him from across the table. 

"Yes. Could you please pass the salt?" 

Lex's eyes prominently widened before he glared at him. Shaking his head, Lex reached over and passed Clark the salt, which was taken with a super-grin. He'd evaded that question so many times before in the past that Lex had most likely not expected him to actually answer it. 

"Thanks. Remind me to compliment your chef." Clark sweetly batted his eye lashes at Lex, wondering whether his friend would ask him anything else. "Is something wrong, Lex?" 

The cute irritated look he was getting was making it really hard not to laugh. Clark knew he could only hold off for another minute at most. 

"I would like you to elaborate further." 

"Sure. Your Porsche hit me, we broke through the railing, we fell into the water, and then I ripped the hood of the car off, pulled you out and gave you CPR. I think you remember what happened after that." Oops, now he was laughing. 

"I'm glad you think this is funny." Lex appeared to be ready to leave the room. 

"You wouldn't believe how great it feels to actually tell you the truth and not be afraid." Clark wanted to hug him and almost would have if his friend hadn't sat back down looking shell-shocked. 

"Clark, you have nothing to fear from me." 

"I know. You're more than my best friend, and I want you to always remember that." 

Lex actually smiled before casually changing the subject. 

After Clark finished eating, he began to sift through the papers, while Lex left the room to discuss business matters on the phone. He was feeling even more chipper than during his morning chat with his mom, and he couldn't wipe the stupid grin off his face while reading though the ton of boring information. 

The straight facts didn't really tell him very much about who she really was as an individual, except for the two short occasions that Clark had seen her. He really hadn't had a chance to interact with her on a personal level. 

Elizabeth Hoffman was 26 yrs. old, her birthday April 14, 1978, with no living blood relatives. There was a mention about a younger sister named Jennifer who had died a few years ago from complications due to Meniere's disease, whatever that was. But, there was nothing about her parents. Elizabeth had an extensive medical history over the last six years that included an undiagnosed coma that had lasted a month as well as many migraines, seizures, and minor operations plus other unidentified complaints. 

She had graduated from the Metropolis University three years ago with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was now working as an Assistant Manager of Financing at the Bank of America. She must have worked her way pretty fast up the corporate ladder. Lex had even gotten her psychology classes IQ, varies abnormal psych quizzes, and entrance stat scores, interesting Elizabeth was way over-achiever. 

The fact that Hoffman was her married name made it harder to find out her place of birth, which was still unknown, Lex was working on it. Michel Hoffman had married her on May 11, 1997 and they had no children. Wow, she would have been 19 when she got married. She both lived near Centennial Park in Metropolis and worked a short drive away. He quickly memorized the addresses and phone numbers to both. Also, she had no criminal record. `Why had she gotten so enraged at the restaurant?' 

The file Lex had handed him had contained many other interesting facts, but he didn't deem them as being important enough to have to remember them at the moment. Clark was pleased with the information even though there were a few unanswered questions, but maybe Chloe would be able to find them out. If not, he could ask Elizabeth tomorrow when he gave her a little visit. He really hoped that would go over well. 

Lex re-entered the dinning room looking satisfied with whatever he had just completed, probably something exciting to do with business. You go Lex. Sweeping him a fleeting look, Clark noticed that Lex had changed from his black ensemble to a nice casual purple shirt and khaki pants. Maybe it was more comfortable to wear? 

Clark held up the papers, "Thank you. If you're not busy, do you think we could, like, shoot some pool or something?" 

Near the end of lunch, he had over-heard Lex telling one of his servants that they were to be undisturbed for the rest of the day. He loved how quickly Lex would clear his busy schedule just for him. 

"That would be nice. You do know I'm going to whip your ass all over the floor with my superior talents." Lex stood in such a way that showed off his curves nicely. `Curves? Guys didn't have curves, did they?' 

Snickering, he replied, "Sure you will." 

Clark left the file on the table and followed Lex into the gaming room. This should be fun, promised male-bonding here we come. Not knowing why he wanted to, he was curious how far he could push Lex's personal relationship boundaries. 

After four rounds of pool, Clark had his friend laughing and openly joking with him, plus sexual innuendos had started running rampant in both their vocabularies. 

"Your turn to break. Try not to have the balls fly off the table this time, okay?" Lex slid his left hand up and down the pool cue suggestively while licking his upper lip. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hit your balls that hard... how about I just blow really hard on them this time?" Chuckling Clark lost his concentration when he glanced up at Lex's sultry display, causing him to goof up his shot yet again as two pool balls went flying off the table smashing into the nearby wall and making rather obvious dents in it. Lex had won in the boundaries department by a vast margin. 

"Oops." 

"I think you blew too hard." Swaggering Lex bent over and picked up the one striped and white ball and randomly placed them back onto the pool table. Was this flirting? 

With an evil grin, Lex wiggled his ass in front of him, "My turn." 

Three balls quickly plunked into their respective hidey-holes before it was Clark's shot again. 

Grinning like an idiot, Clark couldn't believe how much fun he was having. This experience was what Clark yearned for, to be close with someone again. He felt so wonderful being in Lex's presence, and his thoughts wandered to the night before when Lex's strong warm arms had embraced him while he had slept. Falling asleep to Lex's even breathing and rhythmic beating heart had seemed almost romantic. It had been years since he'd a sleep over with Pete, and that experience had been radically different from last night. He was starting to feel much more intimate with Lex; maybe even more than what he should be feeling towards his friend. Whatever Lex did, he did it with an eccentric passion, even if he was just playing pool, and Clark loved watching him perform for him alone. 

Dunking the eight ball in prematurely, Clark cheered his failure out loud, he really wasn't trying very hard, as the strange memory of what Lionel had said to him as few days ago came sweeping back into his head. 

And he blurted out without thinking, "Hey, is there anything out of the ordinary in some room on the third floor here, maybe somewhere in the east-wing?" 

The blank expression that swallowed up Lex's previous jovial one screamed `yes' to him. Of course, instead of giving a positive or negative answer his friend went with the evasive, "I don't know what you're talking about." 

"Wow, you really are the queen!" He laughed, hoping to lighten up the present surprisingly dour reception, and forgetting that Lex would have no idea what he was referring to. 

"What?" 

Not wanting to explain, but having to say something that didn't sound too stupid, Clark replied, "I'm sorry, it was something we'd been joking about yesterday, and you don't remember, day repeating and all that." Before asking again, "So, what's in that room?" 

"Nothing." Lex started to walk away from him, his posture giving off the impression of extreme stress. 

"Oh, it can't be anything that bad. Come on, what's in there?" 

"Where did you get the misguided idea that I have some secret hidden room?" Lex was definitely upset and his friend almost looked at Clark like he was afraid of him. No, afraid of Clark finding out what was in that room. `What was going on?' 

Getting angry, Clark replied, "Trust is a two-way street, Lex?" 

Looking back at his with troubled eyes, Lex asked, "Please, tell me. Who mentioned this to you?" 

"Your father told me about it." 

If looks could kill Lionel's head would have just exploded. Focusing on his friend, Clark could actually hear Lex's teeth grind together. 

"When did he do this?" 

Lionel Luthor, it was all his fault. What he had said to Clark `that day' had just popped into his mind, and he had automatically asked the question. And, in not getting a truthful response, the answer gnawed at him making him want to know what Lex was hiding from him this time. The older Luthor like to lie, but usually there was some form of truth lurking beneath his deceitfulness. Especially if it meant that he had something to gain. What would have been his advantage? Clark stared at Lex hoping that the answers would somehow reveal themselves to him. He wanted the truth. 

"I've been thinking. If he was lying, he would have nothing to gain from it. Lionel only does something if it benefits him. If I looked, and there was nothing there... then it would only confirm the fact that he's a dishonest bastard." 

He slowly began to approach Lex, "At the time, he was trying to turn me against you." 

From Lionel's point of view, the threat of Clark, being too friendly with Lex, had to be eliminated. He wasn't allowed to support Lex against his father, because no one but Lionel Luthor was allowed to influence his son in anyway. `What kind of sick father would do that?' 

Cornered against the wall, Lex glanced up, his blue eyes glistened with excess moisture as he stared up at Clark. 

God, he knew what was in that room, "Lex, it's something to do with me, isn't it?" 

"Clark, I..." 

"I want to see what's in there. Please. I promise I won't freak out." It can't be that bad, it can't be that bad... Lex had to be someone he could feel safe with... if not, there was no one left. 

Lex studied him for a moment before sweeping past him, his voice sounding so sad and resigned as he said, "Follow me." 

He felt like they were walking in a funeral procession. `Why do I always let my curiosity get the better of me? What could be so bad that it would tear our friendship apart? Did Lex have some secret laboratory where he was experimenting on people or other things?' Dozens of strange and horrible scenarios crossed through his mind, making him dread the opening of the door that was now in front of him. 

The room was dark and as they walked down several stairs before entering the main area, Clark quickly scanned the area before saying anything, while Lex had strode directly to one of the many TV screens. 

There were huge pictures of him and his parents randomly situated around the room. Most of the cave paintings had diagrams made up of them that covered the walls like valued masterpieces. He glanced at a large screen that had a bullet hitting something that made the projectile get squashed flat. When had Lex seen a bullet hit him? The alien worm-parasite that had infected Pete and Chloe a year ago sat in a jar in the center of the room, while the octagonal metal key disk for his spaceship turned in circles winking at him with the fact that Lex had always known more than he had ever let on. Backing up, he immediately felt faint and nauseous. Wanting to toss his lunch onto the floor, Clark turned and stared at the glass case that contained a big piece of shimmering green kryptonite. `Did I really have to know this? Ignorance being bliss and all that.' 

"Why?" He was numb. The pictures and objects seemed to be almost positioned in a way as to look like a shrine. A shrine to Clark Kent. `Why?' Lex said he loved him, but this... this bordered on obsession. No wonder Lex was afraid. 

"Before you jump to conclusions, Clark, this isn`t about you-" 

"Lex, I'm honestly really worried about your sanity right now. This isn`t normal." 

Surprised at his concern, Lex turned from the screen he had been staring at, "Aren't you angry at me?" 

"I'm absolutely pissed! You lied to me. You told me that you'd stopped investigating me. What the hell is this room for?" 

"It's about me, so much of my own life I can`t explain. I`ve survived countless brushes with death. And it all started with this car crash..." 

Clark watched as the little red man was hit over and over, tumbling through the railing and into the river below, forever. Yes, it had all started that day, for both of them. Lex continued to talk but he couldn't hear him, he was trapped in the computer-animated image that was his life. That little computer generated man had to relive that day again and again like a never ending Friday that continued to mock and humiliate Clark. 

He needed Lex's help. Even when he found the woman, that didn't mean she would be the solution. It was an uneducated hypothesis, which was not based on any real merit or facts. Damn it when had he started thinking like Lex? 

Lex was obsessed with him, but when had he become so obsessed with Lex? Dying blue eyes answered his question. The unadulterated anger pulsing through him began to melt away; Lex was too important to lose. This room didn't matter. He wanted Lex to know the truth, every tiny detail, and not forget. But he couldn't have that, not right now anyway. For some reason, he enthralled Lex, who had such an inner passion for discovery and intrigue that Clark didn't have. He wanted that as well. Could Lex give some passion to him? 

Shifting uneasily next to him, Lex waited in silence for Clark to respond. 

Staring at Lex's profile, as it burned a dark charcoal image into Clark's retinas, he finally moved into action. "I don't want you to do this anymore. It's making you nuts." 

"I don't know if I can stop." 

"Not even if I tell you everything you want and need to know?" At Lex's look of shock, Clark put his hands on the sides of Lex's smooth face, in a perfect imitation to what Lex had done to him in Belle Reeve, and continued, "I just realized how important you are to me, and I can't let this keep hurting you." 

Leaning over he kissed Lex full on the lips, at first tenderly then full of the urge to gain some of his friend's passion. Someone moaned. Sturdy hands moved through his hair grabbing on and pulling him forward crushing their lips together, as they opened further apart. This was pure lust and he became aware of the fact that he was now fully aroused. `Oh God, yes.' Clark felt a wet tongue slip into his mouth and he sucked on it greedily. The sensation sent a shiver up his spine. More. Lex tasted so sweet, like sugar and spice and everything nice. `Damn, Lex wasn't a girl! Crap, that list has grown to have a third notch and why is Lex pulling away?' 

They broke apart with a sharp cry from Clark, and extremely hard panting by Lex who looked absolutely bewildered. He was beyond freaked out. He should have been yelling at Lex, not sucking on his face. Quickly averting his eyes, Clark turned and ran. Barely hearing Lex scream his name at the top of his lungs, Clark was out of the Luthor Mansion's main door a split second later. 

It was always so much easier to run away from one's fears then face them, not that it had ever worked out well in the past. His little summer _vacation_ in Metropolis hadn't done him any wonders. Hell, he'd be lucky that his mug-shot wasn't hanging around somewhere. Shit, was this too much to have to endure right now after having two experiences that had left him terrified and wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Yesterday had been bad enough. There was always tomorrow to deal with the absent repercussions. First Lex dies, and then in a depression over it, he destroys Smallville High School. Now he wants to have sex with Lex after seeing how much his friend adores him. That list was so wrong on so many levels. He needed some time to re-adjust himself, internally and physically. 

Hiding out in the woods for the next few hours sounded like a great idea at the time. But, eventually he got bored of hurling rocks though trees and made his way towards home. 

It was early evening when Clark called Chloe back hoping that she had somehow uncovered the missing information about Elizabeth's birthplace and original last name. He had left the woman's file at the mansion, even through he had most of it memorized, he wished that he had the guts to go back and get it. The nagging feeling that he had missed something important after the first read through would not go away. 

Dialing his cell phone, he realized how extremely confused he was. Sure, he was unhappy about seeing that freaky room, but why did he kiss Lex again? Because it seemed like a good idea at the time didn't really cut it. And here's the bigger question, did he really want to have sex with Lex? Once again, he was an emotional mess. Arriving back at the farm he sighed and waited for Chloe to answer her damn phone, which had rung over five times now. 

She answered in a mad rush, "Clark, I was able to get quite a bit of information. But, my one main source can't get back to me until tomorrow with a couple of details. I hope that's okay?" 

"Just tell me what you got." 

"I believe her birth name was Elizabeth Lynn Cross. She was born in the state of Nebraska lived there until she was seven. Then she just kinda disappeared for close to a decade and is next known living in a suburb of Metropolis. From what I can find, it looks like she has a perfect house, perfect job and a perfect husband- Michel Hoffman. He's a freakin rocket scientist, can you believe it?" Chloe laughed seemingly very pleased about finding these facts in particular. The rest of the information Clark already knew, while a few details like personal medical files where missing as well as that one other item that he couldn`t place. 

"Thanks a ton." Clark stood outside of the barn hidden from the kitchen window's view, dreading talking to his parents. 

Chloe's voice was surprised when she asked, "Don't you want me to give you the folder on her?" 

"No, I can remember what you told me." He didn't want to go to the Talon, and the papers would soon disappear anyway. Saying goodbye, he began to walk towards the house, and upon opening the door he wasn't surprised to be greeted by yet another lecture that he didn't deserve. 

"Clark, where were you? Chloe phoned and told us you were having her research some woman?" His mother gave him a once over probably checking to make sure that he was still all in one piece. 

He tried to appear chaste. "I'm really sorry. I know I should have phoned, but I lost track of time. Honestly it was something very important." 

"Son, were you at Lex Luthor's?" Looking furious, his dad stood next to him obviously expecting a positive reply. 

"Why would you think that?" 

His mom smiled putting her hand on his stooped shoulder, "Lex, called twice wanting to know if you were here. He seemed to be distressed." 

"We had a fight. I just kinda left him hanging. It wasn't anything big." Clark just wanted to go to bed and some how make the next day come sooner. 

"We can't have you skipping school for whatever reasons." His dad must have noticed how exhausted he looked, "Clark, why don't you eat something and we'll discuss this more tomorrow." 

Yes, tomorrow. What a brilliant idea. He nodded then sat down to eat his meal, which turned out to be slightly more unpredictable than originally thought when he almost puked onto the table after a blast of dizziness un-expectantly hit him full force. `Just fucking great.' He sure didn't feel like having any of his mom's homemade cherry pie for dessert now. 

Going to bed early, he tried not to listen to his parents as they talked quietly amongst themselves in the other room. Lex is a bad influence blah blah blah, Clark was hiding something from them blah blah blah, and they are concerned about him blah blah blah. Why did he get sick for no reason blah blah blah. `How beyond annoying.' It was a near miracle when he finally went to sleep by one am. 

Day Nine 

Clark was floating above the clouds. Unbothered by not being able to control the direction of his flight, he marvelled at the sight of the tiny town of Smallville passing underneath him. Surrounded by a beautiful blue sky he looked ahead and watched as his family's farm came into view. Then it happened. He began to plummet back to earth increasing speed until everything was a horrible blinding haze of the ground coming up to slam into his face. It didn't hurt. He crawled out of the hole he'd made only to be stunned to see his infant spaceship lying open inside the small crater. A voice from behind him made Clark turn around and stare as Lex stood tall, a dominant black figure against a sea of green, and told him that he had always known what he was offering Clark his hand. Taking it, Clark let himself be led into the unknown with his friend, not troubled in the slightest. 

Ah yes, waking up to a brand new day. So terribly exciting. Clark turned off the alarm and began to review the previous day's events in his head. 

Yesterday had been a complete and utter failure. He had gone to both Elizabeth's home and work addresses around ten am to find that she wasn't at either place. Predictably her co-workers at Bank of America had been quite troubled by her absence. From what he had heard, she was almost the ideal employee and a pleasant supervisor. The inside of her rather expensive Victorian house had been immaculately clean and plain, which seemed to fit her profile. It was obvious that a couple lived there, because there were many elegant wedding photos hanging on a few of the walls and both women's and men's clothes in the bedroom closet. There had been a strangely large salt-water fish tank and watching the exotic fish skeletons swim back and forth had been rather mesmerizing. Other than that, it was boringly normal. 

Not knowing where her husband worked he had no where else to check, so he returned to `Altizio's' the Italian restaurant Lex had taken him to, arriving there at nearly the same time as before. Unfortunately, they wouldn't even let him enter the premises without a reservation. The fact that he was dressed in a T-shirt and faded blue-jeans and not with Lex, had one of the waitresses giving him an appraisingly rude look before he had walked away from the front doors. It had been too demeaning to stick around. 

So, he had then spent the rest of the day wandering around the city hoping to accidentally bump into her. Instead, Clark had thwarted a purse-snatcher and a knife-wielding mugger, and had saved a cat from getting turned into a street pizza by a semi-truck. Not even caring or paying attention when people had thanked him and called him some kind of super-hero, Clark had just walked past them and continued searching for the elusive Elizabeth. 

That evening, he'd stood outside of Lex's penthouse moping when she had failed to walk past the street in front of it like she was supposed to. It was a crappy lonely night. Shortly after midnight, the futile day had ended abruptly, while walking along one of Metropolis' many streets. 

Now he was magically back at home, dressed in the same boxer shorts he'd remembered putting on one Thursday night oh so long ago, and waking up from yet another Lex dream. Kudos to his annoying subconscious. 

Getting out of bed, showering and dressing in much nicer clothes than yesterday, he finally realised that the day hadn't been a total loss. Logically, she should have been at one of those places. This meant for sure that he wasn't the only one who was able to change his repeating day. But how was he going to find her? 

The two times that he had seen her so far he had been with Lex. Yesterday he had barely acknowledged his parents while eating before speeding to Metropolis, which had made it easy to avoid seeing anyone from Smallville, especially his wealthy eccentric friend. Chances seemed to indicate that if he was with Lex in that damn city then she could pop up. Then again, it probably was just dumb luck. Clark paced his room for several long minutes trying to figure out what he planned on doing that day. 

Was it really wise to ask Lex to take him to the city again? He had sincerely missed his friend a great deal yesterday. But, bad things seemed to follow them around like a plague. And why did that stalker room fail to bother him anymore? Lex. That frustrating man wouldn't get out of Clark's head, even at night-time he was afflicted with dreams about him. `Damn it.' 

After greeting his mom downstairs, Clark munched on practically tasteless pancakes while watching some early morning cartoons; he had defiantly turned the channel away from the depressing earthquake news. Why didn't he just make some toast? `Note to self, make toast tomorrow.' His mom wouldn't get that upset if he said that he didn't feel like eating pancakes, right? `No more pancakes.' 

As the road-runner evaded capture yet again and the coyote was humorously blown up, Clark smiled as he grasped the importance of the last few days. So much vital information had been revealed to him. Yo-yoing from seeing Lex at his most vulnerable, to him realizing his friend's greatest strengths was now fascinating to look back on from a whole different perspective. Out of all of his friends, Lex was his pillar of hope. 

It had finally become blatantly obvious that Lex was the person who had been in practically all of his dreams for more than a chronological week. Trust, fear, and lust. Who could he talk to about these recent urges he was getting? He still wanted to do more than just kiss Lex, and that was beyond weird. Making a decision, Clark put on his leather boots and went outside. 

Looking around, he took in a deep breath of air, while walking on the ground that was moist with morning dew. He smiled at the bright golden sun that slowly rose to warm the cool earth around him. Watching as a soft mist lifted off the ground, and made the landscape appear otherworldly beautiful. He marvelled how magnificent his family's farm was. This place was made with love, and it perfectly showed off his father's pride at getting a job done right. But would he still be here in ten years? Where was his place in the world going to be? 

As Clark strolled out into the field where his dad was working on the tractor's recently flat tire he called out, "Hi, Dad. You need a hand?" 

His dad glanced up, "Sure, the darn thing blew on me. The spare's in the barn under the hay-loft." 

Minutes later it was fixed and ready to go. Clark on the other hand, had decided on having a father and son talk, because he longed for some parental advice about a topic that was going to make him feel very awkward. `This wasn't going to be fun.' Plus, this was a good time for a trial run. If in the future, he ever wanted to talk to his dad about romantic advice, Clark would know how he'd react. 

While he had made sure not to dirty his nice clothes, Clark's hands were actually sweaty from nervousness and he absently wiped them on his pants. 

"I would like to ask you something. But, it's kinda embarrassing." This had to be a discussion man to man. Really, how would mom understand? Strangely enough telling this to his mother had scared him more. 

"Son, you know you can ask me anything." 

"I know." 

His dad started to become a bit concerned when he didn't continue talking. "Are you okay? Is there something wrong at school or-?" 

"No, it's just... I don't want you to freak out on me right now. I don't think I could handle it." The annoying orange streak across his dad's forehead caused him to grab a cloth and wipe it off with a bit of stressful agitation. 

"I promise that I won't freak out. Whatever it is. I trust your judgment, Clark." His dad looked so confident saying that. `Wow, was he in for a bombshell!' 

Gathering his wits about him, Clark finally blurted out, "I've been having sexual feelings towards a guy." 

"Oh." His dad's face was comically stunned. 

"Is that normal? Like when you were younger did that ever happen to you?" 

"Well, I can't say I did. No one really talked to each other about stuff like that back in the dark ages." His dad grinned and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "But that doesn't mean that it's not normal. I'm sure many young men have thought about it and maybe even experimented a little." He could tell how much his dad was trying to look cool on the subject, and it was almost funny. 

"It doesn't bother you?" 

His dad pulled his jacket tight together as a strong cool breeze swept past them. "I'm very surprised. You've always been quite taken with Lana. Your mom and I never though that you may have feelings about _other_ people like that." 

"I know." He chewed a bit on his lower lip, "Should I tell him?" 

"I don't know. It might not be a very good idea." Clark could see his dad making a list of the possible candidates who might have gained his affections; it wouldn't take much longer before it was narrowed down to likely one. The shock was probably making him think slower. 

He decided to get the suffering part over faster, "It's Lex." 

His dad made an annoying resigned sigh, "I was really hoping it wasn't." 

"Dad!" 

"Look you know how I feel about him. He can never be fully trusted." His dad shook his head negatively, "Like I said, I don't think it would be a good idea. He has shown himself to be a good friend, but it would be dangerous if you became more than friends. There's just too much at stake." 

"What if I told you he already knows about me being different?" 

"What?!" 

"I told him yesterday, and he was totally cool with it." He wasn't exactly lying. Please, let his dad relax a little on the Luthor detesting. 

His dad seemed to be fighting off the urge to say something harsh about his statement, and viciously balled his hands into tight fists. Waiting patiently, Clark could almost hear him counting to ten in his head. 

Finally, he got a decent reply, "Your mother and I had a discussion the other day and we agreed that you are old enough to make important decisions like that for yourself. I trust your judgement, Son, and if that's what you want to do than you have my support. For once, I truly hope that I am wrong." 

Wow, when had his dad gotten so mature on the subject of the Luthor's? Hell just froze over. Clark smiled and hugged his father, "Thank you, for being so understanding. You have no idea how much this means to me. You're so cool!" 

"I know when something means a lot to you, and this seems to be one of those times. You better get going or you'll be late for school." 

Clark let go and beamed, "I love you, dad." 

"I love you too. No matter what, you'll always be my son." His dad let go with a slightly far away sad look on his face that Clark tried not to notice. 

Wanting his parents to believe that he was indeed going to school, Clark super-sped back towards the loft to grab his back-pack that was lying against the door. 

After having such a heart warming talk with his dad, he became even more inclined to the idea of telling Lex, something. With such a great beginning to the day, how could it end badly? Trying not to jinx himself Clark superstitiously banged his knuckles on the barn door as he walked past it, knowing that it would almost certainly accomplish nothing. 

Waiting eagerly a short distance from his house, Clark decided to delicately burn his name into a couple of trees and other oddly entertaining stuff, until around eleven am before going to the Luthor mansion. He thought that it would be more polite if he gave Lex sometime to finish that crucial phone call and do whatever it is he needed to accomplish for a few hours before Clark dragged him back to Metropolis. Really, that was the decent thing to do. By the time they got to the city, it would be a perfect time to have some expensive Italian lunch, and maybe even bump into a special blond haired woman. 

When he finally got there, their conversation of, "Hey, lets go to Metropolis and have some fun." with the predicted reply of, "Are you really sure that is such a good idea?" had gone even more smoothly than last time. 

Though Clark had the advantage of now knowing exactly what buttons he had to push to get that wonderful "Yes" out of Lex quicker. `YES.' Didn't Lex say he would do anything for him? Now that was power, to be able to know something that hidden and personal about his friend. That statement along with that other dying confession love thing, which still made Clark's insides feel all woozy, had him on the brink of feeling passionate about spending more time with the great Lex Luthor. They could do anything he wanted; as long as his mind stayed out of the gutter it would all be just great. 

As the sleek silver Ferrari 550 blazed down the highway in a streak of metal glory, passing by other inferior products as if they were going backwards, Clark internally cheered with joy. The car had been his idea of an added perk to the day. Clark laughed at the thought of how many students, male and female, must really envy and loathe him for having a friend like Lex. 

Just for a little while, it was great not having to care or live up to other people's expectations of him. It was nice that Lex never openly judged him. He wanted to just be himself and have some fun, and if they happened to come across Elizabeth, big bonus. When had that been bumped to being his second priority? And why didn't he care that it had? 

He must have made some kind of weird noise because Lex turned smiling at him with a look of silent inquiry as to what had been so humorous. 

"This is great, Lex." He grinned from ear to ear stroking the dashboard. "What fun things are there to do in Metropolis on a Friday night?" 

"Since you're underage, not much." 

"Hey! Come on, I wanna get out and see some of the city tonight. Get your panties out of a twist. It won't hurt to have some fun with me." 

"I don't feel very much like going to a nightclub tonight." Because Clark had been purposely vague about his motives earlier, Lex seemed bemused about what was expected of him once they got to the city. 

"That's fine." Clark stated absently rubbing the panel in front of him harder and faster, "Whatever you think would be entertaining will be good." 

"Clark, I think you should stop doing that." Lex stared at his hand with concern, probably for his car's interior. 

A thin wisp of smoke had started to float up from underneath his moving hand and a slight nasty smell of burnt leather had just reached his nostrils. 

"Oops. I guess I'm a bit excited." He immediately stopped and shoved his warm hand between his legs, offering no other explanations or excuses. 

"Indeed." Lex frowned at him, looking like he wanted to say something else but didn't 

Glancing up, Clark saw that where he'd been rubbing the expensive material was now slightly discolored. He hadn't been that careless in years. 

Beside him, Lex declined the chance to comment further, instead his friend reached to put the air conditioning on to get rid of the smell, then changed gears as they took the ramp leading off the highway towards Metropolis. It had been an accidental use of his powers, but other than being slightly self-conscious, Clark wasn't bothered about Lex suspecting anything. Maybe he could see how far he could toy with his friend today using his special abilities in front of him. It could definably be fun to time how long it would take before Lex cracked under the pressure. Yes, that would be perfectly evil and very fun. 

"Where did you hear about `Altizio's'?" Lex sauntered to a stop in front of him. 

They had entered the elegant establishment at a quarter past two pm. Wanting to look good, Clark fiddled with his cotton forest green shirt to the point that he looked like a male peacock preening himself. He briefly thought once again that the woman had better show up. 

"I think, I heard you mention something about it a while back." He waved his hand haphazardly in the air, "You were giving me some lecture about the fine differences between American Italian food and _Italian_ Italian food." 

Lex looked mildly skeptical, "Really? I don't remember doing that." 

"I guess, you were having an off day then." He grinned hoping that his friend wouldn't take offence to that statement. Stupid sanity issues. "Hey, it's not like you can remember everything." 

His friend grimaced, "Quite true." 

Now would not be a good time to tell Lex that Lionel had drugged him to make him appear crazy, and that Clark knew it and let him be admitted into the mental institution under false pretences anyway. The scene that would have caused wouldn't have been pretty. He couldn't be truthful all the time, yet. 

Looking off to the side as Lex chatted with one of the mangers, Clark stuck out his tongue at the rude waitress from the day before. Stopping to stare back at him, the waitress of course had no idea who he was and quickly resumed what she had been doing, while Lex had been blissfully unaware of his childish but pleasant act. 

A friendly hostess then began to lead them to a table near the back of the restaurant, when Clark quickly stopped and pointed to a table, which they had already passed by, near the front window. 

"No. I want to sit there." 

"There are still people at that table." Lex appeared mildly confused at Clark's choice of seating. 

The woman also looked uncertain as she stood silently waiting for their decision. `Perfect Lex slave.' Clark grinned. 

"Look, they already have their bill. I'm sure they'll be leaving really soon." 

Lex's jaw gaped open in astonishment before he promptly closed it, as a cynical expression briefly crossed his face, "Is there something special about that spot that I should know about?" 

"No." Clark joked, "It won't kill you to wait five, ten minutes." 

"I'm sure it won't. But I might-" Lex cut himself off and gave him a quick once-over. 

Clark was smiling so prettily at Lex that his friend must have decided to just give up. It was already a lost cause to say, no. 

"Never mind." 

He hated being a bad liar, the fact that the table was somehow important to him must have been clearly apparent. It was the same place where they had been seated a few days before. The urge to sit there again had prompted him to speak up. Wow, that seemed like ages ago, so much had happened since then. 

As they quietly watched the elderly couple finish off the last of their wine, he decided to show a bit of appreciation towards Lex and maybe let some of his charming personality shine through. 

Standing next to his friend, Clark admired the table that they were both patiently waiting for. "Thanks, Lex. Isn't that table great? It has a beautiful scenic view of outside with the trees and flowers... oh look, Bambi." 

A lady walking a rather large Great Dane had passed by the window, and he had given her a polite wave as Lex studied him. Then, he instantly appeared on Lex's right side, using super-speed, no one in the restaurant noticed but Lex. As his friend's head turned from left to right to left again, the look on his face was- priceless. `When did I become so easily amused?' 

Seemingly taking a moment to decide how to respond, Lex finally turned to the right one last time to stare disapprovingly at him, "Clark, you're a strange one." 

"I know. But, not strange enough to chase you away." 

Lex tilted his head in amusement. "At least, I could never say that you're boring." 

"Your compliments give me a reason to go on at the beginning of everyday." The truth in his words almost hurt as Clark let himself lean against Lex, bumping him slightly at his shoulders and waist. The contact was quite comforting. He absently turned and smelled his friend's musky cologne as their eye's made contact at a slightly embarrassing close range. Looking closer, he became fascinated with the scar on Lex's upper lip. It was such a perfect little blemish, and why did Lex's face seem to be getting even closer to him? God, Lex was so- 

"Mr. Luthor, your table is ready." 

Finally able to sit down at his _chosen_ throne, Clark looked over his menu- starving he felt like he could eat everything on it. Swallowing excess saliva, Clark tried not to look directly at Lex too much while they were making their small talk waiting for their food. Ever since sitting down, Lex kept appraising Clark like he was the entre or even the main dish. And Clark's cock didn't seem to mind the attention. Stomach vs. dick, it was a very interesting battle. 

* * *


	2. Chapter Two

What was it like to lose your mind? Where did it go? And how do you get it back? Clark stared into the mirror in the men's restaurant bathroom trying to gauge whether he looked sane or not. At the moment he felt what passed for normal, but you never can tell. Sighing in annoyance Clark suddenly grabbed his head as another freakishly occurring spell of dizziness hit. What the hell? The vertigo left too fast for him to think about it any further when he had much more important things too think about. Like the fact that a few minutes earlier, he had rushed into the room, with slightly super-human speed, under the premise of having to use the facilities. When, in truth, he had almost come in his pants. It was beyond mortifying.

He watched as his green eyes squinted in thought. Fact one: Elizabeth Hoffman had still not shown up. Fact Two: He didn't seem to care about fact one due to Lex giving him too much of his undivided attention and looking much too purposely sensual eating and drinking his lunch. Dear lord, he had almost kissed Lex again, and in such a public place. And why did all these thoughts not bother him, even in the slightest? Zero consequences were the only answer to that last question.

The almost kiss was what must have got Lex going in the first place. And whose fault was that? His damn friend was purposely bugging him for his stupid behaviour. Clark had been leaning over and maybe even had groaned just a wee bit when their waitress had finally come to take them to the right table. Ever since then, Lex had been intensely staring at him like he wanted to seriously fuck him right on the table, and Clark had been blushing non-stop for the last hour. It was time he got even.

Shaking his head one last time in the mirror, Clark turned and confidently strode back to their window seat prepared to get back at Lex.

"Sorry about that, I think my pasta had some mystery spice that bothered my stomach."

Eyeing him with an all-knowing smirk Lex passed him a small fork, "I thought you might like some dessert, so I took the liberty of ordering you some."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Tiramisu." Lex rubbed the bottom of his chin lightly before letting his finger fall near his Adam's apple, "I'm sure you'll love it."

Glancing down at the piece of rich cake, Clark was thrilled at this perfect opportunity of revenge. He gradually picked up the fork and put a large chunk of cake into his mouth. Making sure to suck loudly, he then withdrew the utensil in a very slow sexual manner while rubbing his lips tightly around the metal.

"Mmmm.... It's so good." Clark deliberately moaned at the explosion of espresso, rum and chocolate in his mouth.

After graciously licking off what was left on the utensil another idea sprang into mind, "Lex, why don't you try some?"

He quickly put some more cake on his fork and lifted it up near Lex's lips, staring at his friend in a way that implied his dare. Lex narrowed his eyes, and put his left hand on Clark's raised one.

"I'd be delighted to." He then guided Clark's hand to his mouth never breaking eye contact with him. Rose lips opened and seemed to suck and lick overly long on the fork, which vibrated somewhat to the touch, making Clark gasp. Then an expression of triumph and wonder crossed Lex's face.

Shit. He was throbbing hard again. Damn him. It just wasn't fair that Lex always won. He didn't have nearly as much practice playing these twisted games. Not that he wanted them to stop, but come on. Lex was definitely beating him in this odd mutually understood competition of wills.

But, underneath the charade he honestly didn't think Lex was joking around.

Up until recently, Clark had never imagined that his friend liked him that much in that way. Loved him, but it sure didn't seem to be the platonic kind. It was kinda weird and nice at the same time. He was beginning to accept the truth that he liked being loved by his friend, even if that meant he'd be getting the whole complete cynical package that was Lex Luthor in the deal.

Clark quickly finished eating the cake, while Lex went off to pay the bill with American Express, never leave home without it, plus ten other expensive credit cards to keep it company. Glancing at his watch it became apparent that Elizabeth was not going to show up no matter how much he hoped she would. He had been right in the assumption that she could change her environment around her like he could, unlike everyone else in Smallville or the rest of the world. Should he ask Lex to track her down? What if she wasn't even in the city? Or the country? There wouldn't be time to find her if she was in Europe or Africa. Was she another mutant of some sort?

"Is there something wrong?"

Looking up, he was surprised to see such a troubled expression on Lex's face.

"I was just thinking about someone."

Lex's voice was full of pure interest, "Really. Who?"

"Oh, this woman."

His friend frowned, seemingly from the indication that another woman had caught his romantic attention. "Does this woman have a name?"

"Yeah, it's Elizabeth Hoffman, and she's married." Clark looked sheepishly at Lex, "It's very important that I talk to her today. I was kinda hoping that you could find her for me." He couldn't stop playing with his cloth napkin, absently shredding it into several pieces.

Lex grabbed the green cloth's remains from his hands and put it back on the table. "I could try." Motioning for them to leave, Clark nodded and began to follow Lex to the car. "Should I know why you want to talk to her?"

"Well, I've been having a bit of a problem with something, and she might be able to help me with it."

Turning on his cell phone, Lex began to dial then left a detailed message with his assistant about finding one Elizabeth Hoffman, "It might take a few hours before they call me back with any information."

"That's fine. I'd like to hang out with you for a while first, anyway."

In an offhand manner, Lex asked, "Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Clark teased, "Maybe later. If you're good."

`Ooooh yeah. One of those gorgeous priceless looks again.'

Glancing forward as they walked out of the building, Clark was mildly surprised to see that Lex's car had materialized for them directly in front of the restaurant. That valet should get a good tip. Lex crossed in front of the Ferrari and quickly got into the drivers seat. Opening his door and glancing into the quarter of a million dollar machine with enthusiasm, Clark smiled.

He leaned in and made sure not to hit his head on it`s low ceiling. "I saw in the paper yesterday that there's a big car show in the city. I'd love to go to that."

"I had been thinking of attending, but didn't think I'd have the time."

As the stick shift jolted into third gear, Clark teased, "You could maybe even buy a few more cool sports cars while we're there."

"I don't purchase new vehicles that often." Lex scoffed, driving into a parking lot to quickly turn the car around.

Looking up into the clear afternoon sky, Clark assumed that they were now heading towards the Convention Center that was hosting the Metropolis International Automobile expedition.

Joking, Lex continued, "I'm pleased to admit that I've cut back to one a month."

"Oh really? Good for you." Clark snickered, openly admiring the inside of the car and ignoring the mar on the dashboard in front of him, "How many do you own now?"

Lex was about to answer him when `Overture' from The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart began to play. Pulling out the cell phone from his front jacket pocket, Lex looked at the caller ID and scowled. "Yes?" His friend seemed to unknowingly speed through a red light.

"I'm sort of engaged right now in a matter of great importance."

The car jerked quickly around a right corner, causing Clark to thump into his friend's right arm. Glancing at him with a wounded expression, Lex rotated his shoulder with an obvious wince of pain, while continuing to talk into the phone-- quite pissed off. This was horrible. Lionel Luthor was on the damn phone demanding that Lex meet him at LuthorCorp. `Over my dead body'.

"No, I don't think I can make it."

Clark, using super-speed, reached his arm around the back of Lex's neck and grabbed the phone from his friend's left hand.

"He's busy with me right now, so screw off!" Pushing the button to roll down the window, Clark hurled the cell phone out of the speeding car. Turning backwards, he watched as it shattered into tiny electronic pieces all over the road behind them with a sweet thrill.

"Clark! My phone. What do you think you`re doing? My father`s going to be seriously enraged."

"He'll get over it. I doubt that's the first time he's ever been hung up on." Thinking about Lionel anymore would make his blood boil, "Oh, and I don't want you to see him tomorrow either. The way he touches you creeps me out."

Lex gawked at him like a fish caught out of water that was slowly suffocating to death. Joking he finally replied, "What did you see that my relationship with him ends in a bloody massacre sometime in the near future?" Clark continued to appear unyielding in his stance against Lex. Slightly fuming Lex said. "Fine. How do you expect my assistant to contact me now, with your vital information?"

"You can call them back from a pay phone if you must. It's not like the end of the world." There was no way that he was going to feel bad about destroying Lex's phone. It's not like he couldn't afford a new one. Plain and simple, his friend wasn't going near Lionel Luthor today. No, they were going to go to a car show, and have lots of fun.

"You told off, my Dad, and threw my phone out of the window."

Clark tried to mimic Lex's usual smirk as he answered, "Yep, just try to tell me you haven't wanted to do that a thousand times?" Clark dropped the smirk for a mischievous grin as he continued, "At least now, you can blame it on me, and what can your dad do? I really did grab your phone and throw it out the window. You weren't being rude--I was. It's probably what he expects from me anyway- being a Smallville rube and all."

Lex scowled, but shook his head he finally appeared to relent. "You're insane."

"Only with you. What can I say, Lex? You bring out the best in me."

The cute snort-like noise that barely escaped Lex's lips made Clark grin, as it reminded him of a similar sound that he'd heard a new born foal make. Picturing Lex as a wet hairy animal, Clark began to loudly snicker.

At the next set of red lights Lex actually stopped this time, they glanced at each other and began to laugh.

"Do I even want to know what's so funny?" Lex had definitely warmed up to the fact that Clark had acted so spontaneous.

"No. You really don't." Clark was glad to see his friend's pearly whites, trying to garner a greater response he reached over and petted Lex's shoulder, hoping it no longer hurt him.

"Gee, that's comforting." Seeming to like the contact, Lex leaned slightly towards him. Was what he said comforting or what he was doing comforting? Lex's voice had been amused if not a tad sarcastic.

Letting his hand slide down Lex's right arm and settle onto his thigh, Clark firmly squeezed his leg hoping for an interesting response. When the light turned green the car sped up, at an extremely high velocity. Glancing down, he was delighted to see that he wasn't going to be the only one who had hard-on problems today. Unfortunately, Clark watched as Lex's back straightened and his lips became a thin line, screaming out to him on how uncomfortable he was. `Physical touching is still off limits. Okay I can handle that, for now.'

Not wanting to bother his friend further, he removed his hand and honestly told Lex how he felt, "I want us to become closer friends, again."

"That would be nice." The sincerity in that statement made Clark's smile glow with pleasure. He wanted to hug Lex and never let go, even if that idea was extremely corny.

As the Ferrari rapidly approached their final destination, they continued to enjoy each others company for the next few minutes in silence.

Watching as the vast amount of skyscrapers flashed past his peripheral vision Clark was delighted how relaxed he felt at being in the big city once again. So many good and bad things happened here everyday; it boggles the mind on how the people living there can keep up with it all.

Clark would never be able to call Metropolis, uninteresting or dull. You could do anything there. The city was so huge and full of people wanting to be entertained that there was continually something of interest going on. Sometimes the crowds and excessive noise made him want to flee back to the peace and quiet of home. Really, he liked being a farm boy and he often worried about whether he would ever become used to the added pressure of so many millions of people. And yet, the thought of staying in Smallville to work on the farm for the rest of his life wasn't very appealing either. What was he going to do with his life? Who would he be in five or ten years?

They arrived exactly at four pm. The enormous glass four story high Convention Center was packed inside and out with people. Staring out of the window, Clark gawked at the colorful banners and advertisements covering the outside walls and streets. Through one on the larger room's walls he could see the vast amount of cars and accessories. `Wow. This is going to be good.'

Upon entering, Lex immediately went to the service desk and asked how to acquire a brand new cell phone. One of the women actually gave Lex her phone for an exchange of what appeared to be about five hundred dollars. Lex quickly phoned his assistant to touch base with the new phone number as Clark watched him with amusement. Ah, his ever thrifty friend could not live without a phone.

After putting the prized possession in his Armani jacket, Lex turned to face him, "I should make you pay for it."

Clark tried to look innocent, "Me?"

Lex sighed, "I guess it's my turn to be your humble host, since you'd just get lost on your own. Maybe I should get you one of those special `If you find me, take me here' stickers."

"Do and die." Letting his eyes turn red with inner heat, Clark grinned evilly at Lex, who appeared momentarily mystified by what he saw. After Lionel's phone call earlier, he had almost forgotten the promise he had made to himself on the way into the city, which was to drive Lex mental using his powers. This latest stunt had truly perturbed Lex.

"Well, are you going to show me around or stare at me for the next hour?"

"Incorrigible."

Promptly, Lex began to lead him through the maze of exhibitions; purposely acting like a tour guide on acid he somehow made boring information highly stimulating. To watch his friend being so un-characteristically comical was hilarious, and Clark had to control himself from laughing too hard. He had somehow made his friend really happy.

"The Metropolis International Automobile Show is considered to be one of the industry's most important global auto shows. I, myself, have been to the ones in Frankfurt, Detroit, Paris, Geneva, and Tokyo. This is indeed the largest-attended auto show in North America, with more than 1.2 million visitors each year. And I must confess that this dear city lives up to its reputation at being the best at everything." Lex's walk was surprisingly flamboyant as he then gracefully turned towards him. "Why else would our darling, Mr. Lionel Luthor, build LuthorCorp here?"

Openly mocking his father, Lex took on Lionel's stature and facial expression of displeasure. "Why, because it's the very best. And I will settle for nothing less than perfect."

Playing along, Clark also pretended to be Lionel. Walking over and standing in Lex's personal space, he tisked his friend by wagging his index finger right in front of his face.

"Son, you're a spoiled brat. But, it's all my fault. I'm so sorry. Neanderthal's could have done a better job at raising you than me."

Lex's left eyebrow shot up. "HA! Homer Simpson said it best, `It's funny because it's true.' Alas, I'm forever burdened by my dishonored pedigree."

"I'm feeling so un-pretty today. Fruit of my loins, a need a good bitch slap, I forgot to put in my gallon of hair gel. The world is coming to an end." Clark groomed his longish locks and pretended to sob.

Lex swore under his breath before starting to laugh hysterically.

The openly astonished stares from some of the passer-by's made Clark realize how loudly they had just been laughing. Giggling like school girls, wouldn't have been too far off in describing them. Oops. If there could be headlines in Saturday's paper he could see it now, `Lex Luthor and Boy Toy whoop it up at Sports Car Show.' Oh yes, he still hadn't gotten his mind back yet.

Looking back at his smiling friend, he realized how wonderful it was that Lex didn't seem to notice or care about the crowd of onlookers, and Clark didn't care either. It felt like they were in their own unique little world.

Quickly getting back into tour guide mode, Lex continued on, "In addition to more than 60 new vehicles here, they're also hosting a wide range of seminars, symposiums, award programs, competitions and conferences for the industry and press. After speed-reading the whole list, could you please inform me as to which ones you would like to attend? Some are invitation only, so I'll need an extra minute to get access to those ones."

Lex smiled and handed him a large pamphlet out of nowhere, which listed over 25 specialty events and lengthy descriptions about each of them. Complying with the suggestion of speed-reading, one glance gave him enough information to know what he would like go to, so he handed it right back almost a millisecond after Lex gave it to him.

"I'm interested in the Charity Gala Benefit Dinner, the Urban Tuner Specialty Vehicle Display and the Automotive Technology Competition thing could be interesting. But, I wasn't really planning on staying here all night. So, whatever you want to do would be great." Clark grinned at Lex's frowning face. Lex must be wondering if he had actually sped-read it or not. Check.

Watching as Lex bit down on the inside of his mouth, Clark was pleased to see his friend's control momentarily slip as he scanned the lists and actually found the events Clark had mentioned. Clark's grin widened.

Fighting his amazement, Lex glanced upwards past the top of Clark's head for a moment before replying with a smile, "Ah, good choices. You are right, tis but one evening instead of two, my fair Kent." Becoming more serious Lex asked, "Would you like to come back here tomorrow?"

"I can't." Clark sighed. "Lex, pretend that tonight is the last time you're ever going to see me. Make me remember it."

A concerned and questioning expression made Clark elaborate a bit more, "I`m not dying or anything. It's just such a long story, if you want I could give you the `cliff notes' version?"

Lex gave a fretful sigh; appraising Clark like this was indeed a dying person who might disappear before his eyes. `What a melodramatic actor.' Clark grinned at his friend's feigned lack of humor.

Closely watching Lex's uniquely marked lips, Lex replied, "No, you're right let's have some fun. You can always tell me at dinner. If my assistant doesn't contact me before six, I'll call him after dinner. We can worry about your, Lady Elizabeth, later." Lex looped his arm around Clark's and smoothly led him towards the unique looking concept vehicles in the first exhibition hall. It was bizarre to realize that Lex had probably figured out his new flirting game and seemed to like it.

Out of the dozen or so futuristic cars, one in particular caught his attention. Standing in front of it, Clark stared awestruck at the Audi LeMans Quattro, "This is like the coolest space age car ever."

"You have good taste." Sliding his hand over the silver-curved hood Lex bent over to peer inside the high-tech black leather interior. He commented something about the navigation system while Clark couldn't help but admire his ass. The expensive Hugo Boss pants hugged his friend's assets in a way that... he really should stop staring. Remember, cool car. Just a little to the left and right of Lex's body was indeed a very cool car. And it was impossible to look in either of those directions.

Having to wait another few minutes as Lex actually got into the car and fiddled around with some of the strange gadgets, and a promotion manger discussed finances with him, Clark was very pleased when he finally got out and stooped over extremely low, seemingly to forget to bend his knees, to inspect the mag's. `Was it getting hot in here? Or is it just me?' Cool car. Cool, Lex poking at the tire rims with his fingers like he was trying to provoke some sort of vocal response from them. `Oh my.' Cars were definitely another passion of Lex's, but this seemed to be going a bit too far.

Lex turned and took in his glazed expression, "I'm not boring you am I?"

"No." He blinked back into focus, "I want to see more." Yes, much more. Sometimes it sucked being a teenager, with these hormones that were much too problematic, and Lex was grinning at him really funny. Damn it, he hadn't realized that round two of their personal competition from the restaurant had come back to bite him in his own rear-end. Game on. Sure, he was slow at the uptake but hey, if Lex wanted a war he wouldn't mind obliging him. Juggling more than one contest of wills couldn't be that hard, right?

Clark wasn`t a super-freak on knowledge about cars like some people he knew, but wow when Lex lifted the hood of the Audi, seeing that fully chromed V10 magnificent engine was almost enough to make him drool. In the liking of a car way too much way. And this was just the first sports car of many to be seen. `WOW. Sexy cars and Lex. They go together like peanut butter and jam. All shiny and sticky. Crap.'

Trying to seem more interested in the vehicle in front of him than the personal intruder standing next to him, Clark stated, "That's an incredibly powerful machine."

"Yes, she is. Should I get one?" Lex questioned after brushing up against him.

Actually considering it, Clark wasn`t sure how doable that would be due to it being a concept car, but with Lex anything was possible, "Yeah, I'd love it as a birthday gift. I'll tell, Dad, I won it."

Lex`s eyebrow raised slightly as Clark resisted smelling him. "Too bad that won't work. Technically, it's still illegal for you to win anything."

"Fine. Then I get to tell, my Dad, to screw off because I'm keeping it. I'm old enough to do that."

Laughing Lex replied, "It sure seems like you are." Giving him another appraising once-over, his friend flashed him a devilish grin, "What makes you think I'd buy it for you?"

Clark put his arm on Lex's back and drew him in closer so that he could easily inhale his exquisite cologne and unique Lexness again, "Because I asked, nicely."

They were so close they could have kissed, and Clark watched as Lex's lips did indeed part invitingly for him. The sound of a camera and its flash lighting them up caused Lex to pull back like a startled colt, "There are some different cars I'd like to show you, please follow me."

As Lex turned away, Clark could see him glare at one of the Daily Planet's journalists standing nearby. Grinned at them, and way too impressed of the picture she'd just taken of them. Clark wondered what it would look like. Unfortunately, the annoying woman had to ruin the mood. In a different time, how much money would Lex have had to pay her off with? Or?

The next few vehicles Clark made sure to participate on the looking and touching parts of the whole car that was oh so vital to the overall experience as Lex had told him upon entering the new 2005 car room. Sitting next to Lex in a brand spanking new Cadillac XLR, Porsche Carrera GT, Mercedes SLK, and a Chevrolet Corvette, all but the latter being convertibles, oddly hadn't felt much different than when he had done so with all of Lex's other fancy cars. The company was what was different, it felt so much more intimate today, even with all the strange people talking and walking past them. Their personal bubble once again was able to block them all out. Sexy Lex and cars. Just the right place to be.

About an hour later, Clark almost floated in joy when Lex had left to use the washroom and he had casually began to super-eavesdrop on his friend when he had been gone longer than normal. Listening in on Lex's private phone call, Clark learned that he would soon be acquiring one 2005 Audi Lemans Quattro. That would have been so cool. Clark wondered what Lex would do if he ever asked him to buy him the world. Okay, maybe a small island would be more realistic. `Sure Clark anything, whatever to make you happy.' He didn't notice as a woman gave him a weird look as he laughed staring intently at the blank white wall in front of him.

Soon after Lex rejoined him, Clark began to feel overly parched, buying a 1-liter Poland Spring Water he decided to use his special super-chugging abilities. Standing next to Lex he threw back his head and sucked the liquid back faster than humanly possible. Lex stared at him stupefied, as he wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand Clark beamed triumphantly at his friend. `Check Mate.'

Eyes narrowing Lex smirked, "I hope you get a raging... stomachache from that."

"Na. But, I'm sure I'll have to use the bathroom soon."

It was hilarious to actually see Lex roll his eyes, "The Gala's going to be starting soon, dinner's at six."

"Oooo, I can't wait." Clark impeccably tossed the empty bottle into a recycle bin that had a small sized hole in the top and was located about thirty feet away.

Seeming to admire another one of his talents, Lex smiled, "Show off."

"Always. Plus, I know how much you like it." Clark laughed as they started to leave the room.

Lex looked away before Clark could see any change of expression, but Clark was positive that he would have seen a charming look of surprise on his friend's face. This day was turning out to be much more exciting than he would ever have hoped for, and his feelings for Lex were steadily growing to the point where he questioned whether what he felt was more than just a lusty crush or not. Like his dad had said, even young men that he had known may have experimented somewhat, so how far should he go himself? It would be wrong to overlook an opportunity like this. `Yeah, sure just keep thinking that'.

The Charity Gala Benefit Dinner was held on the top floor of the building. Clark marveled at the glass ceiling that enveloped the large T shaped room. It was over forty feet high and unusual abstract shapes could be seen in the fading sunlight. Very artsy. Not wearing a suit like everyone else, made him feel a tad underdressed. But, he didn't let that bother him. Lex had told him that he looked great, and that he was a better person than anyone else in the room who dared to look at him in an offending manner. The feeling of jubilance that swept over him had made Clark want to shout to the crowd on how much better Lex was than what they all thought. He knew that the populace in general didn't have a very high opinion of his best friend.

They were almost finished eating when Lex's cell phone rang. "Hello. Really? At the `Bolo,' yes, I know where that is. Thank you." Lex put the phone back into his jacket pocket and sat back in his seat, "Well, it seems that your lady friend decided to have an expensive dinner tonight as well."

Clark's eyes lit up with anticipation, "Elizabeth?"

"Yes. My assistant was just notified of her most recent credit card transaction, which occurred less than ten minutes ago. It was at a Mediterranean restaurant about six blocks from here. I know the place well. It wouldn`t take long to get there."

"Oh." He was more or less full, so leaving supper early wouldn`t suck too badly.

"We can leave now if you'd like. There's no guarantee that she's going to still be there. At the very least, she will be in the general area." Apparently knowing Clark's upcoming response, Lex stood up and politely pushed his chair in under the table.

"Thanks. How fast can you run?" Clark grinned evilly.

"You really are insane if you think I'm going to run to the elevator."

"Last one there's a rotten egg." With a whoosh of air, Clark was gone. He stood standing by the elevator a second later to wait leisurely for Lex to arrive. When he did, it was apparent that Lex had indeed run most of the way there.

Lex panted with a look of sheer annoyance, "Don't ever do that, again."

"I'm not bothering you, am I?"

Sarcastically, Lex replied, "Not in the slightest. But, isn't it a bit inappropriate showing off in such a high profile public place?"

"No one saw me doing anything out of the ordinary, why did you?" Clark pouted.

"No, I didn't see anything at all." Lex looked disappointed at him before going into the elevator. Feeling bad, Clark wanted to make it up to his friend, as soon as they finished dealing with Elizabeth, he'd tell Lex everything, and maybe learn a few physical skills from him at the same time.

On the way there, Clark nervously rubbed his palms together and generally acted twitchy. Lex kept staring at him in a way that openly showed his concern for Clark, which helped him calm down a bit. Up until now, the day had been almost perfect and he had never wanted tomorrow to come this badly before. At the moment, the thought of having to re-live Friday over again, starting everything at the beginning, made him sick to death. His parents would say and do the same things, Chloe and Pete would act like broken records, and Lex would be aloof and guarded. That last detail was the worst part.

On the bright side, today had been rather festive. Lex was a joy to be around. Heck, he could easily handle a few more days of fun and carefree relaxation without worrying about having to make it all better right away as well.

When he saw the flashy metallic sign `Bolo' up ahead Clark began to think about what he should say to Elizabeth once he was finally able to have a descent conversation with her. `Hi, do you know why today keeps on repeating? Because, it would be so great to stop that.' She would probably think that he was totally lame, or an escaped mental patient.

Walking into the establishment, Lex, full of authority and conviction, politely asked to see the manager. The man promptly showed up less than a minute later, almost looking fearful as to what Lex Luthor was going to say to him. Clark glanced around the fancy ocean themed reservation only restaurant as Lex seriously began to explain his sudden appearance.

"It is essential for me to find out where your recent customer, Mrs. Elizabeth Hoffman, may have gone after leaving your premises about twenty minutes ago."

The man quickly nodded, "But of course. I'll go find out who served her."

Soon a petite young woman appeared, looking way too adoringly at Lex. Clark scowled as she completely ignored him and talked to his friend as if he was her own personal savior, while Lex charmingly smiled at her and seemed generally pleased by her flirtations. His friend asked how she was doing, how long she had worked there, and Lex even stated how fine the weather was outside... Clark was going to scream.

"Are you going to get to the point before I shrivel up and die, already?"

After hearing Clark's nasty outburst, Lex stared at him in astonishment before he smirked, "Sorry about my friend, I think his supper may have been too spicy for him." Lex then moved closer to her and continued to go on with their conversation, seeming to dismiss Clark's snort of disapproval, "I hope he didn't bother you."

"Oh no, Mr. Luthor-"

"Call me, Lex."

"Lex." She had the gall to giggle before continuing on, "I do recall the lady you want to know about. She and her husband were such a fun-loving and polite couple. It's not often I see people that openly in love with each other, plus they did leave a very generous tip." She blushed at her reference of money. Clark felt like vomiting. `Pass me a barf bag.' An actual wave of irritating dizziness just pissed him off even more.

"Please, go on."

"I'm sure I heard him mention that he wanted to take her to a cabaret later tonight. I know there's one located not far from here that's quite popular. Brandy's. But I don`t know if that`s where they were planning on going."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Lex bowed his head slightly as if he were tipping an imaginary hat. "That will be all for tonight. I do hope that you have a very pleasant evening."

She smiled sweetly, but didn't turn to leave. God, if Lex touched her he'd... he'd do something rash.

Lex offered her his hand. No. Before either Lex or the waitress could say anything more he grabbed his friend none too gently by the arm and pulled him out of the restaurant. `How dare Lex act like that with some stranger, and right in front of me?' Did his friend want to have sex with her that bad?

Grimacing at Clark's hand super-glued to his arm Lex asked, "Is there something wrong, Clark?"

"We're wasting time." He grated out between clenched teeth, "You didn't have to get so chummy with her. She was only a sad blue-collar worker away. I don't see what you could possibly have seen interesting about her. She wasn't even that pretty." `Methinks I doth protest too much'.

"To speak in words you'll understand, `you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.'" Damn it, Lex was almost grinning at him. `Had this been a set-up?'

"Whatever." God, he was sulking now. Regressing several years really wouldn't be very attractive to Lex, but shit he was annoyed. Okay, fine he was jealous. Clark continued to brood as they walking back to the car.

Stopping in front of the Ferrari Lex mused, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous?"

"Vain much?" Clark snorted.

"Why I happen to think that I'm a very attractive man." Appearing to slightly flaunt his most striking features, Clark wasn't impressed. It had been a set-up.

"Yeah, you attract psycho bitches who keep trying to kill you, mighty fine. I'll give you extra credit for that." Sarcasm can be very fun, and he was still quite angry with Lex's little personal test. "Let's just go. I'm not in the mood for any more of your games right now."

Plopping down into the passenger's seat Clark tried to ignore his friend's somewhat wounded expression. He felt totally justified acting this way, however irrational it might seem.

The car sped off without any further conversation.

`Brandy's' was a sleepy little piano bar on Metropolis' Upper Fast Side. Strangely, the fact that it was a bar and he was underage still hadn't been brought up. Good. Glancing up at the pink glowing neon sign, he started to wonder what the heck a cabaret was. Having had a few minutes to calm down, Clark decided that he would be willing to talk with his friend again.

"Lex, what's a cabaret?"

"It's a place where the waiters and waitresses bare their souls to their customers, hoping to reach their big break. Show biz can be grand that way." Seeming to think for a moment, Lex continued, "I believe it first originated in the early 1880's in Paris. It was initially intended to be a private club for outspoken artists, poets and composers, and then one night the owner decided to serve drinks--and voila! Cabaret."

That of course made him give Lex a very blank look of, huh?

After Lex drolly elaborated, Clark found out that they're often professional performers who sang anything from popular Broadway show hits to old TV theme tunes plus some original songs.

That hadn't sounded that exciting until Lex mentioned, "What makes a cabaret interesting is that the audience is part of the show." Clark wasn't in the mood to be part of any kind of show.

"Don't worry. We can sit in the back where we won't be too noticeable." Lex did a quick survey of the area before parking his car next to the side of the building between two inferior vehicles.

After pulling the keys out of the ignition, Lex called his assistant and instructed him to locate all of the cabaret bars in Metropolis and to request for them to keep a look out for an Elizabeth Hoffman. The man on the other end of the phone was so polite and prompt at his responses that it made Clark wonder how much different Lex acted towards other people, than with him, on a daily basis. His friend seemed to some how make others only see a distorted view of himself on purpose. Lex Luthor had to appear to be invulnerable, shrewd and cunning to the rest of the outside world. But Clark knew how intensely devoted Lex was to those he loved. He would do anything. Sadly, he considered the fact that Lex could even deem cold blooded murder to be justifiable, under only extreme circumstances he hoped. What else could his friend do?

Could he, Clark Kent, ever kill someone who threatened a person he loved? He had come so close to purposely killing a few people in the past the most notable being Sam Phelan and Lionel Luthor, but so far he had never stepped over that line.

"Clark, you look like your dog just died and you're contemplating on whether I did it."

Having been broken out of his inner reflections, Clark turned and looked at Lex with confidence. Shaking his head in the negative he replied, "I don't even own a dog."

Lex's rigid posture and the questioning look in his eyes made Clark want to tell him more.

Smiling, he patted Lex on the back as they started to stroll towards the entrance, "And if I did there's no way I'd ever believe you'd kill my dog. Well, unless it had rabies and was running after you with a foaming mouth and you happened to have a gun. Then you'd have my full approval to put the poor thing out of its misery."

"How very kind of you. Would his name be Old Yeller or Cujo?" Lex grinned relaxing a bit.

"Definitely, Old Yeller. I loved that movie." Looking more serious, he licked his lips, "But that would never happen, because I'd save you before it ever got close enough to harming you." Smiling he thumped his chest, "I've decided to elect myself to be your own personal guardian angel."

Lex stopped walking, now standing less than a half a foot away from him, "You already are." Glancing upwards, his friend looked in awe at him.

Staring longingly into his friend's beautiful blue eye's he swore that he was seeing directly into Lex's troubled soul, "I've failed you more times than you know." The feeling of guilt made him quickly look away.

Leaning in towards Clark so that his breath was warm against his jaw, Lex whispered, "No matter how much I want you to be... You're not perfect. I like you just the way you are."

Feeling another sensual hot flush start at the tips of his ears and run down the length of his entire body, Clark responded with, "I think we'd better go inside, or I might make a scene."

"That's never bothered you before." Lex smirked then moved back and gestured towards the door, "You first."

`Huh?' He didn't make scenes unless he was angry, then he tended to yell and stuff... God, how often had he acted like an immature brat in front of Lex? Gee, most recently at the `Bolo' restaurant, not that Lex hadn't partially initiated it. Good, he didn't feel like kissing Lex anymore.

"Too bad for you. I'm sure you would have greatly enjoyed it this time." He chuckled at Lex's surprised expression before moving past him and opening the door.

After entering the dimly lit room, he noticed a large type printed sign by the front desk that had the pictures and names of the performers for that evening. They were all dressed in semi-casual trendy clothes and they were either smiling sweetly for the camera or trying to appear thoughtful or something cool like that. A lady by the name of Natalie Donald would be their first entertainer at around nine o'clock, which was in about an hour. He'd have to find a fun way to waste some time until then. More games perhaps? Like another symbolic chess match without the board, little men and horses? While he would have to, at the same time, keep a look out for Elizabeth and her husband. This could turn out to be a rather exhilarating night.

To Clark, as they walked further into the semi-crowded dark room, the most prominent feature was an antique piano sitting in the middle of the unusual area around him. Slouched in front of it was a middle aged man playing out a smooth rhythmic unfamiliar melody.

The place in general was quite unique. There were thick emerald curtains covering the windows that were held back with bulky copper twisted ropes. The floor was plain cement which had flecks of mostly worn off yellowish paint, while the walls were half mahogany wood and half deep purple. Most of the light in the room came from two semi-clean gaudy chandeliers that were slightly swinging above them. Clark nodded to himself, pleased by the over-all cozy atmosphere.

Smiling, he let Lex choose were he wanted them to sit. Following him to a table in the far left hand corner of the generally comfy space they sat together in a smallish booth with their backs facing the wall, which would give them a decent view of the up coming entertainment, as well as a minute notion of privacy. Glancing down he saw an ornate silver and gold candle sitting unlit on the top of their glass table.

After a few minutes of idle yet intriguing chit-chat, Clark grinned at the opportunity for some more mischief. Squinting his eyes and concentrating hard on the black wick, he only had to stare at it for a second before he got his desired result. He was pleased to hear Lex's hiss of shock when the candle suddenly burst into flame in front of his face.

"Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?" Clark laughed at his mesmerized audience of one.

"That was you?"

"Yes."

"I need a drink." Lex waved his hand grabbing the attention of the nearest waitress and ordering a double shot of scotch for himself and a coke for Clark. Sitting in awkward silence until after they received their drinks, Lex nervously swirled the ice in his glass before turning to look intently at him.

"So, how many special talents do you have, Clark?"

"At the moment six." He leisurely grabbed a fork and started twisting it into extremely exquisite shapes before it finally snapped from the friction. Knowing that he'd proven that particular point he then glanced towards a lady on the far side of the room and motioned Lex to look at her, "She just told her friend that you'd be a `great fuck.'"

Clark then began to poke his index finger into the candle flame, wiggling it in a teasing manner.

Lex glanced at the women mischievously, seeming to ignore the fact that Clark was not getting burnt, "I get that a lot."

"I don't doubt that. Like you said, you're a very attractive man."

Clark listened closely as Lex's breathing and heart rate doubled, and it thrilled him to watch as his friend began to sweat and fidget in his seat. The slight vibration in the padding under him encouraged Clark to continue with his teasing. Lex definitely seemed to find his powers to be highly stimulating. Oh, how he loved to view one vulnerable sexy Lex. Gazing at Clark with slightly closed eye-lids, Lex sucked back his drink and ordered another two.

Sure Clark was playing with fire in more ways than one, but this was beyond fun. It was electrifying and addictive to watch Lex. Every tiny move or sound that he made delighted Clark and encouraged him to up the ante.

At one point, Clark noticed two guys sit near them, mostly due to the fact that they had been holding hands before getting to their table. Lex stared at him even more intensely as the men practically cuddled with each other in the booth.

"Do you like the view?"

Clark had gone quiet while watching the couple, "I... find it very interesting."

"I bet you haven't seen much homoerotic action in your life, being in such a small town all the time where even mentioning the word `gay' is a faux pas, have you?" Lex actually bit his bottom lip then licked it.

"No." `Fuck, this was hot.' Unfortunately, the guys didn't seem intent on doing much else at the moment.

"Your loss. I, on the other hand, am quite well versed in pretty much everything."

"Many kudos to you." Clark grinned, "Do you have any particular stories that you want to share?"

Clark heard a couple of strange sounds from underneath the table and was highly amused when he saw that Lex had taken his shoes off. Even in x-ray vision, Lex's feet were sexy.

"Maybe later."

"Goody." Deciding to join in on Lex's new little game, Clark also took off his shoes.

Within a few minutes, they had a fun competition of first toe tagging then on to full on footise's. Now Clark honestly had to admit that footise's with a guy was a slightly funky homo-thing, but the experience was a highly pleasurable one, plus he got to find out that Lex sure was ticklish on the pad of his left foot. `Neat.'

It was a weird kind of flirtation. Neither of them seemed to be prepared to come right out and say exactly what was going on out loud. Like a volcano bubbling on the verge of a violent eruption, Clark wasn't sure who would crack first, Lex or himself. A risky word here and an un-manly touch there, oh what a way to pass the time.

And, damn, did the time race by at a faster pace than usual. Casually looking in the direction of the piano Clark observed that the waitress Natalie Donald, a droll, brunette, amply proportioned diva, was getting ready to begin her montage, as she was clearly sitting down her bar tray and saddling up to the piano next to the man. Another hour passed by that he wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon.

Clark shifted back indulgently in his seat to watch the upcoming performance as the microphone was picked up by Natalie.

Surveying the room she bluntly stated, "I'm talking. Now sshhhh."

The barroom chatter barely faded as the lights dimmed slightly. Eagerly, Lex also sat back and turned to watch the woman like this was going to be something more exceptional than him. Clark crossed his arms and frowned. This had better be worth it. He had just been on the verge of something... naughty.

"This song is for my friend Ron, and I mean that loosely."

"You mean you're loose?" A heckler called out from the bar. Clark couldn't believe how rude that man was. He stared at Lex who just shrugged, so Clark smiled and tried to look more supporting towards the waitress. This was her job but no one deserved to be talked to like that without merit, and she didn't look too threatening being way over there.

"No, I'm tight, but this is for Ron," she had a glint of evil in her eye. He had to admit, she had some moxy.

Then Natalie nodded to the pianist, lifted the mike to her lips and began to sing:

"I got a feeling that beneath the little halo on your noble head / there lies a thought or two the devil might be interested to know."

All conversation in the room stopped. Clark listened to the words, unconsciously leaning into Lex. When their bodies touched lightly, he sighed and let himself lean further. He soaked up the heat that was radiating from his friend's right arm and shoulder like a sponge. Wanting to hug his friend close in a un-friend-like manner, Clark clenched his hands together in prayer by his knees. He glanced over towards the gay couple and saw the one guy purposely rub his hand down into his partner's lap.

"You're like the finish of a novel that I'll finally have to take to bed. / You fascinate me so."

Natalie's voice was warm and rich like chocolate dripping on a clarinet. Her lyrical delivery took his breath away, and it drew him into her world. Because her style was so touching and confidential, he felt like she was his best friend and she was telling him all her dirty little secrets. This was so weird. Especially with Lex right there next to him. Did Lex feel like this as well? Is this what his friend had meant by audience participation? `Weird.'

"I feel I'm dealin' with a powder keg that's just about to...blow."

"Hey Miss. Hey...you!" A pearl-draped woman waved her bar tab and a Visa card at Natalie at a nearby table. "Can you take this?" Clark absently gulped down what was left of his drink. Would alcohol calm him down or speed him up? Lex seemed calm, and he'd had lots of liquor so far. Then again, Lex drank too much period.

With perfect equanimity Natalie replied into the microphone, "We don't take plastic, honey. Get up and pay it at the bar." Then she smoothly continued on,

"You fascinate me so...."

Feeling the air around him, as well as his seat practically vibrating with sexual tension, all Clark could do was to hang on to his knees and inhale the musky smell of sweat, booze and cologne. All of his higher thinking skills had zoned out, leaving him with only his basic primal instincts. Out of the corner of his eye, Clark saw the men sitting near them begin to openly French kiss each other. `Oh my, God.'

Looking towards his friend with hunger, Clark suddenly wanted to pounce on Lex like a tiger, mauling him into submission, licking and biting him all over, and making Lex scream in passion for him to never stop touching him. `Fuck.' Moaning and groaning louder than the background singing was a very bad idea.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

In an exact repetition from lunch, Clark practically flew into the slightly foul smelling place. The doorway was located in the far back area and barely hidden from the main stage's view. A quick piss and pep talk to himself and he was out ready to go, but what he wasn't expecting was for Lex to be standing right outside of the men's room with an uncommon restless flushed appearance about him.

"What do you really want from me, Clark?" Lex sauntered up to him with a look of unadulterated lust.

Clark backpedaled until he was pressed up against the uneven wooden wall behind him, "I... we... ahhh." `Oh yes that was a great response.'

Placing his hands on either side of Clark's head, Lex leered, "You're right, no more games."

He slowly traced a finger along the side of Clark's neck sensually sliding it down to his muscular chest and spread his hand to feel the contours of Clark's shapely abs before pulling at his belt loops, "What do we have here?"

The sensation of Lex massaging through his boxers to his fully erect cock made him throw back his head and murmur, "Lexssss."

Then, Clark was savagely being kissed.

His head slammed into the wall with a significant thump causing a small wooden chunk to fall off as Lex continued to aggressively assault him everywhere. Nails raked along his back and ass as Lex had somehow un-tucked his shirt and unbuckled his belt without him noticing. At the same time, Clark could taste expensive alcohol as Lex thrust his tongue into his mouth. Then his legs were pushed apart, as Lex shoved his hard groin against Clark's equally solid one and started to create an electric-like friction as he rapidly rubbed up against Clark. Now this was a bit of a rude awakening.

Breaking the kiss, Clark grabbed onto Lex's wrists and gently pushed them away from himself making Lex stop his advancement. This was a bit too much too fast. How to slow Lex down? And maybe get them out of here and to somewhere else?

His friend glared at him clenching his teeth in anger. When Clark let go, Lex let his hands fall down beside himself, balling them into tight fists he appeared to will himself not to yell, "You've been fucking driving me insane all night. Stop teasing me. If you want me, tell me right now."

A bit spooked Clark pulled away more. `This is all my fault, how can I possibly get out of this situation without Lex hating me for the rest of the night?' Lex had cracked and he must have been on crack to have acted so moronic. He'd hurt his friends feelings, maybe Lex thought that he was just toying with him for the fun of it and for no other reason than that? What to do, what to do? Lots of begging perhaps? But he was still so annoyingly hard. Why was an angry Lex even more of a turn on than a sultry one?

As a peace offering, Clark softly touched Lex's face, ignoring as his friend flinched away from him, and drew himself down to lightly kiss the tip of Lex's nose. Feeling full of remorse, Clark bent his head down a bit more as he lightly kissed him full on the lips.

With their foreheads pressed against each other, Clark said, "I want you, and I'm sorry."

"For what? Continually lying to me? Or screwing around with my head?" Lex's body was totally unresponsive. Crap. The fury that was radiating off of his friend in waves, made Clark afraid that he'd soon try to bolt. Maybe Lex was afraid too? Afraid of him and what was happening between them. Damn, he still hadn't told Lex about the repeating day thing. Lex still thought that tomorrow would be, well tomorrow.

"For everything." Clark pleaded.

He hugged Lex tightly not giving his friend any opportunity for escape. Hell, he could hold Lex like this forever if he had to. Closing his eyes, Clark tried to ignore the stares of the few people who walked past them. This was something much too intimate for such a public display and Clark hated how many strangers had already seen their emotional roller-coaster ride. Clark wanted Lex to be vulnerable in front of him alone, no one else had the permission to see his friend so upset. They should leave.

He smiled as Lex's muscles began to relax gradually under his comfort onslaught. Lex always forgave him. What would he do if a time ever came when he didn't?

Directly into his friend's ear he uttered, "I need you to know how much I want and care about you. But not here. I don't like people watching us." Clark licked at Lex's earlobe and began to delicately nip and suck on it.

"This day has been too surreal." Lex sighed. Moving his hands up Clark's sides, which somewhat tickled, Lex firmly hugged him back.

Clark grinned and gently bit down where Lex's neck and shoulders met. Licking the spot where his teeth had just been, Clark grinned further when he heard Lex moan at the contact. "Do you want to go somewhere more private?"

"No, I want you to blow me off in the bathroom. But since that's not going to happen, we could make a detour to my penthouse?" Lex's joking tone and the glint of mischief in his friend's blue eyes made Clark's hard on return with a vengeance.

`Ooooh, what fun things we could do there.' Before Clark could reply, Lex was hungrily kissing him again. This time he was less aggressive, the desperate feelings from before had been replaced by an adoring worship. By solely using touch alone, it was like Lex was trying to devote his whole being into making Clark feel how much he needed him. Lex's hands explored and massaged him everywhere, and his friend didn't stop until Clark heard a disgusted noise come too closely from his left which made him open his eyes to see an older man pointing at them like they were side show freaks. Bigotry was everywhere. They begrudgingly let go of their heated embrace and proceeded to straighten their messed clothes.

Taking Lex's right hand, Clark led them towards the nearest exit. It would be over another two hours before the day would repeat again, plenty of time too... "That sounds like a brilliant idea."

Before they got to the door a faint voice made Clark stop dead, and using his super-hearing he zoned in to listen to more of the conversation, "That woman's voice was beautiful, she deserves to be in Hollywood. This place is so cool. Michel, I love it here."

Holy shit, it was, "Elizabeth."

Lex frowned and turned to look towards the direction that he was staring at. Sitting in front of the main bar was a happy young blonde couple, whose profiles where partially hidden, but to Clark she was unmistakable as the woman who had to be the key to all this madness. Today the man, Michel, was dressed in jeans and a casual green shirt, while she was wearing a very revealing red top and black skirt. Clark's stomach did a summersault at the realization of what he was going to have to do next.

Disappointed, Lex let go of his hand and drolly stated, "So, your lady friend finally decided to show up. I hope she's able to give you what you need."

"I promise I won't be to long. Wait for me?"

Lex mutely nodded without any visual expression, which meant that his friend was either severely pissed or very miserable. He'd bet a small fortune that it was both.

Clark gave Lex one more lingering kiss, savoring the feeling of the moment, before walking off towards the unknown. Behind him, he could imagine Lex's eyes trying to bore a hole into his back. His friend was definitely not a happy camper, not that he blamed him. Lex would probably go and intently survey them from a far somewhere. `Please, let this be a quick and informative exchange.'

Clark put on a false grin and made his way towards Elizabeth. Now standing behind her, and after making a few throat clearing noises, he reached out and tapped her lightly on the shoulder and said, "Hi."

Her husband turned to stare at him first while she slowly turned her head so that it looked like she could only see him out of the corner of her left eye. Her wide smile instantly turned into a frown, "Do I know you?"

"Yeah, we met at `Altizio's' a few days ago at lunch. Me and a friend of mine were sitting at your table." Clark smiled overly friendly at her and her husband trying not to look too nervous in front of them. `God, this felt so wrong.' The sensation that he was intruding on something deeply personal almost made him back out.

Her husband looked at her questioningly. "Do you know what he's talking about?"

Elizabeth finally twisted around on the stool, glaring up at him she sighed, "I believe so. I'd like to talk with him alone."

Michel appearing frustrated began to object, "I don't know this guy? What could he possibly what from you?"

"Don't worry, I can handle myself." She smiled sweetly and gave him a quick peck, "This won't take long. It's just some unfinished business."

Her husband didn't look too happy but he also must have trusted her judgment because he gave her a slight nod before giving Clark a warning look of `you hurt her I'll hurt you.' Michel then went back to listening to the bar's entertainment.

Elizabeth gave her husband's arm a slight squeeze as she stood up and seemed to expect Clark to follow her as she walked towards the back of the room. `Just great, the bathroom area again.'

After getting to the same stop that he and Lex had been a few minutes earlier, she abruptly turned around scowling at him in an agitated way.

"What do you want?" Elizabeth's hands were on her hips and she stood in a way that made her look like she wanted to pounce on him and tear him to shreds. "I don't have much time to waste talking to you."

Ignoring her malice, Clark was excited by her partial acknowledgment of him, "You do remember me then, don't you?"

Not directly replying to his question, Clark walked closer to her and saw a small flicker of recognition in her eyes as his only answer. She appeared restless, and she glanced back towards her husband who wasn't quite visible from where they were standing.

"Look, I don't know what you are, and I don't care-"

"What do you mean by that?" Clark cut her off, suddenly worried about how much she knew about him. The past few days had revealed his powers to numerous people, but if tomorrow turned out to be Saturday they wouldn't remember any of it, only Lex would know for sure. And, Clark was almost okay with that. But, her knowing could put him in major jeopardy. The fact that Elizabeth didn't seem to like him very much for some unknown reason was also another good reason to worry. Clark apprehensively glanced around the room searching for his friend but coming up empty.

"You're obviously quite different to be left unaffected by my abilities. When I touched you the other day I knew it was you and not your friend who'd changed something for you to be there. You surprised me by being at the restaurant, and I may have over-reacted a bit." She stated matter-of-factly as her eyes began to glow, after giving him an extremely eerie once over.

`Over-reacted? That's an understatement of the century.' How can a simple look make him feel so violated? She was acting just like so many of the other kryptonite gifted individuals that he had run into the last three years: arrogant, rude, egotistical, and callous. `Why did power corrupt people so easily?' This was going to be much harder than he had hoped.

She was doing this intentionally, but for what gain? Well, since she was then she had the power to stop doing it. Standing right in front of Elizabeth's face, Clark observed that he didn't feel any kryptonite presence radiating off of her. `Not a meteor mutant than.'

Totally outraged, he replied, "You've been doing this on purpose?"

"I'm truly sorry that you have been forced to endure this while somehow retaining your memories. But I'm not stopping-" She unexpectedly stumbled backwards and grabbed her head in pain, and at the same time Clark felt another strange strong wave of vertigo.

Before he could reach out to help her, she recovered from whatever ailed her and took a deep unsteady breath. Straightening up, she seemed twice as disturbed as before as she challengingly bellowing, "And you can't make me!"

He became concerned about her obvious look of pain so Clark used his x-ray vision to peer into her body looking for any apparent injuries. Her brain appeared different than most people he had seen, there were strange dark areas where there shouldn't be. Suddenly, he remembered reading her medical documents and the long list of brain problems she seemed to have. `Maybe there was something physically wrong with her? Is that what gave her these time shifting abilities?' His friend Ryan had become telepathic from a lethal brain tumor. His heart hurt as he thought about his failure to save his young friend. Life was simply never fair.

Clark calmly but firmly stated, "You can't play God."

"Why not? Because you say so?" Her laugh lacked any actual humor. And he watched as the whites of her eyes flashed brightly at him, she looked insane at that very moment. `Great another mentally disturbed person.'

"No, because it's wrong! What do you get out of making the same day repeat over and over, anyway?" Clark felt like shaking some damn sense into her. This was going nowhere fast.

All of a sudden, she appeared to deflate, looking profoundly sad and resigned. "My husband... He is the other half of my heart."

"What do you mean?" Clark leaned against the wall confused.

"I can't live without him. If I don't, I'll loose him forever." She raised her arms up to eye level and stared at them as if they were foreign objects.

Clark wished that this current conversation would lead them somewhere important, "Does he know that you are doing this?"

"No. It's better that way."

Elizabeth didn't seem to want to talk anymore as she silently began to stare off into space. For several minutes, Clark waited and paced, having no idea what to do-- he began to become more upset. Where was Lex? He had already x-rayed through half the walls and people and still came up empty. His friend had simply disappeared. Lex had agreed to wait for him, and now here he was alone with a woman who was the reason and answer to all of his problems, and all he wanted to do right now was slap her. `Where was Lex?!'

Finally, Clark fervently yelled out, "This is horrible! You can't be so selfish, so misguided as to not care about the rest of the world."

"They don't know." She dramatically sighed waving her arm to motion around the room, "It's not hurting anyone that I know of but you. Sorry, but I can live with that just fine." Starting to walk past him she stated, "Look, I must get back, this is taking too long."

Clark stepped in front of her, blocking her path, he passionately announced, "I will find a way to stop you."

"Don't you dare! I'm warning you only once to leave me and my husband alone." Elizabeth stopped and glared back at him threateningly.

"No, this ends tonight. Tomorrow is going to be Saturday. You are going to stop doing this right now." Clark grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward.

People around them started to openly stare at them and whisper amongst themselves. This was very bad. Maybe he could get her to leave with him without creating too much of a scene. `Super-speed maybe?'

She laughed at him as his extra strong grip didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. "No one can stop me. Not even you. You want to have a taste of what I can do?"

Clark let go and stood firm. What can she do? He really had no idea. "You can't hurt me."

"Really? Can you live without your heart?"

He watched slightly afraid as her grey eyes began to glow blue. Freaky. Clark took at step back expecting some kind of physical attack to come from her. Then, something bizarre began to happen. His chest abruptly felt dead inside like his nervous system had just been turned off and it quickly spread so that his whole body was numb all over. Opening his mouth to speak, his lungs choked on the words. Desperate, Clark pounded the front of his body with his fist, barely feeling it. Attempting to take a step forward he fell to his knees feeling intensely dizzy and nauseous.

"No you can't. No one can live without their heart." Elizabeth sighed then turned towards the bar and quietly walked away.

The crowd around her looked at him with distaste and ignored his strange position on the floor. They almost certainly thought that he was either drunk or had been abusing the women that he had been talking to and deserved whatever was happening to him.

`Lex, please, where are you? I need you, Lex?' Around his eyes blackness started to envelop his vision. Clark slumped the rest of the way onto the floor- landing on his face. He was barely able to roll onto his back as one hand landed on his still and silent chest and the other fell onto the cold cement. As his senses faded, Clark thought he heard a very distant though familiar voice crying, "Nooo!" - but, it must have been his imagination because his super-hearing couldn't seem to penetrate the suffocating stillness that had crept over him. Clark eyes glazed over as he stared blindly at the ceiling above him.

Day Ten

The room seemed two dimensional, like watching a movie, while at the same time observing himself as a character in it from afar. Clark could see his still prone form lying on the ground, and strangely enough he appeared to be dead. All overtly pale and blue lipped. The rest of the people in the bar-like area continued on with their meaningful discussions, walking past him and in general totally ignoring his lifeless body laying abandoned on the floor. This was a dream, right? Finally, a frantic figure pushed through the crowd and stumbled onto his hands and knees next to Clark's outstretched arm, shaking. It was Lex, and his friend was weeping while hugging his body. He was dismayed to see the dept of pain on his friend's face because of him. Trying to call out and tell Lex that he wasn't dead, he found out that he couldn`t. `I'm not dead! Lex.'

`Fuck, God, Fuck! She'd killed me.' Gasping for breath and falling out of his bed and onto the chilly morning floor Clark stared around his room in absolute horror. Still gripped in fear from his nightmare he didn't notice as someone came up the stairs behind him. He felt so cold.

"Honey? Are you okay?" His mom stood at his doorway looking down at him in concern. "I heard you yelling something."

"Sorry. It was just a bad dream." He got up trying hard not to shake as he turned off the alarm.

"I'm making pancakes-"

"No! I think I just want some toast." Feeling too light-headed to notice whatever facial expression his mom may have made, he walked past her and entered the bathroom.

Sitting on the closed toilet lid to think, Clark hugged himself tightly for support and began to slightly rock back and forth. He had been dead for over three hours last night. What had happened to his body during that time? How would Lex have reacted? Would his friend have phoned his parents or taken him to a hospital? Even though his subconscious liked the idea of a comforting and mourning Lex, he honestly had no idea what actually happened.

He had been told by a few gifted people, whom he'd trusted, that he was doomed to live forever. As his powers continued to grow, he began to believe that he would. It wasn't a very happy thought to outlive everyone he loved; immortality could never be a gift. Burden or curse maybe but never a gift. So, it wasn't often that Clark was forced into realizing that even he sometimes could be only human. The memory of Van McNulty shooting him out of misplaced hate flashed into his mind. He shuddered as he recalled the kryptonite bullet ripping into his shoulder, burning his lungs, flaying his flesh around it, and quickly draining the life out of him. The pain had been immeasurable. Without his parents, Clark doubted whether he would still be around today, he had sincerely thought at the time that he would die. But this time he had, and without his greatest weakness being anywhere near him. What was he going to do?

He tried to clear his head. Concentrating on only listening to the steadily slowing and calming thump thump that was his greatest lifeline, he stopped shaking. Not sure how long he had sat there; he stood, undressed and had one extremely hot shower. Greedily sucking in the warmth, Clark blinked the water out of his eyes and sighed. He'd have to talk to Lex. There would be no time for fun and games today. He would have to be one hundred percent serious from now on in order to find a way to stop her. Elizabeth. She was still an unknown, but everyone has a weakness. `I just have to find it.'

"It's imperative that I speak with Elizabeth Hoffman today." He stood looking confidently at Lex with a private conviction that was almost forced.

Clark had appeared out of nowhere seconds before, jolting his friend and making him spill half of his morning coffee onto the glass table in front of him. Rising up, as the liquid poured onto the carpet by his feet, Lex glared at the unexpected intrusion in his office.

"Clark!"

"Ooops." He super-sped to the kitchen and grabbed some dish towels.

As he dropped one towel onto the floor to absorb some of the mess Clark continued, "Long story short. You're right, I have super-powers."

The telephone beside Clark began to ring as he mopped up the coffee from the transparent tabletop.

"Hello? No, I'm gonna have to get back to you on that later. I know how important it is, but it can wait." Lex slammed the phone down with slightly more force than necessary. Intensely staring at Clark, he frowned, "Why are you telling me this now?"

"We have a very big problem on our hands, and I'm willing to do anything to stop it." Shit, nerves had finally kicked in, and he had been doing so well a minute ago. Clark desperately wanted to sit down. Leaning against the table, he was surprised to watch the damp towel quivering in his tense grip.

Seeming to hunt for answers Lex coolly asked, "Care to elaborate any further?"

"She is controlling time. And we're all stuck in today. Only I know." He felt so rushed and out of breath. `God damn nerves.' Why couldn't Lex remember anything? Why did he have to do this over and over every time? WHY! Because of that bitch. Oh, how he wanted to pummel her into mush at this very moment.

"Clark, you're not making any sense."

"We had such a great day. I hate this so much." He felt so horribly lost and alone. Startled out of his despair, Clark felt Lex tentatively touch his still shaking hand. Afraid to look up, Clark shared the horrific knowledge that he had woken up with this morning, "God, Lex, I know it sounds impossible--but, she killed me last night. Only, I didn't stay dead because she's controlling time."

Appearing greatly concerned, Lex pried the towels from his clenched fingers, and dropped them onto the floor. "I think you need to calm down and explain to me exactly what is going on."

With sad eyes, Clark looked at his friend pleadingly, "I need your help."

Play, record then rewind. Lex always seemed to look the same. Play and rewind. Same eyes staring at him with a deep brilliance that only Lex seemed to possess. Play. Stop. Rewind. Same expressions of doubt and hope. Play. But this was going it be different. Clark was sick of seeing the same things. He was different. New feelings had surfaced and damn if he was going to suffer for hours all over again. Honesty can be a good thing.

"Counting yesterday's experience of overkill, I think it's been about ten days now."

A deeply engrossed Lex, said appallingly, "You said that she... How did she do that to you?"

"I think she stopped time around my chest. Because I couldn't breathe, but it didn't hurt." Clark watched as his friend began to pace away from him. Yes, this was going to be a problem. He'd told Lex almost everything including all of their personal explorations, and Lex had taken it all in stride, it was the fact that someone had hurt Clark that seemed to unsettle Lex the most. Elizabeth's demise was most certainly being plotted at that very moment. `Was that such a bad thing?'

"I promise to find her as soon as possible, but you're not to go anywhere near her. Do you understand?" Lex looked so strikingly determined.

"No."

"No? She killed you in cold blood in the middle of a crowded bar without so much as breaking a nail!"

Clark firmly grabbed onto Lex's shoulders, "I can't watch you die again." Lex looked beautifully exquisite as he peered up at him- appearing strangely pleased with what Clark had just stated. The fact that he had died also, didn't seem to phase Lex, but that Clark cared about him, thrilled him. Cautiously, Clark leaned over and tenderly kissed Lex's beautiful lips. He had been yearning for some sort of comfort and in that moist warmth Clark found it.

`Wrong move.' Astonished fear flashed in his friend's too close eyes as Lex pulled back from his embrace. Turning his head away from Clark, he murmured under his breath. "You have no idea what you do to me."

Maybe Lex had taken it all in stride so easily, because he hadn't had the time to process all of the mass of information properly. `Why was Lex so afraid of him?' "I'm sorry. I need your help to find her, but I have to stop her by myself. I don't think she sees you as a threat to her right now. I want to keep you safe."

Clark approached Lex to reassure him, only to have him brush his hand away and mockingly announce, "Don't. I'm not feeling very touchy-feely at the moment."

"Do you want me to leave?" Clark felt awful. It must seem like he had gone from being mostly a jerk that had been ignoring and acting selfishly towards his friend the last few weeks, and now, when Lex only remembered Thursday, Clark comes out of the blue and barges in like a twisted tornado acting like he had just come from the Wonderful World of Oz. Hi Dorothy, I'm your lost dog Toto. Remember me? Can I lick your face with the joy of being back in your majestic presence without your permission? Great. Just fucking great.

"Yes."

A jagged ice cold dragger stabbed Clark, deep within his breast. "Okay... sure. I'll just go then." Averting his eyes, he turned to make his way to the front door.

"Do you mind coming back in about an hour?" Clark turned to see Lex toying with his empty cup like it held the meaning of life within. "We have a great deal to discuss."

Clark smiled hesitantly, and nodded silently.

Clark left the mansion with no idea what he could do during what he was sure would be an agonizingly slow hour; in fact, the only thing he was certain of was that at the end of the hour, he had better be prepared for an uncomfortable confrontation with Lex.

It was like he couldn't act normal around his friend anymore, having become so accustomed to a closeness that was not quite there at the beginning of each brand spanking new day. The endless Fridays had all but blurred together except for one vital constant. Lex. Who had always been willing to help and give more than Clark felt he deserved. He had gained an immense knowledge about his friend, while Lex remained oblivious. Oh yeah, this hour was going to be a very long and brooding one.

The Talon was bustling with business; being 8:30 in the morning everyone appeared to be in a rush to grab their morning caffeine fix. Poor sad people. He drank coffee, but only to appear normal not for the taste or the need for some waking up enhancement. Today, he had forgotten to bring any money for this unplanned visit, so he sat coffeeless amongst a sea of streaming mugs.

Glaring up at the clock for the hundredth time, Clark groaned to see that it had been a whole ten seconds since the last time he stared at the almost unmoving hands. Was the damn thing going backwards when he wasn't paying attention? He wanted to go back to bed and sleep the day away. Starting the day fresh over again, sounded like a great idea plus maybe with practice he wouldn't scare Lex off quite so fast with his `tall tales' and sexual advances.

A charming and slightly concerned sounding voice said, "You look like you need some cheering up."

Jerking out of his depressing thoughts, Clark glanced up at Lana from his seat. Wasn't she supposed to be in school right now? He tried to give her a bright smile as he sat back in his chair and replied stiffly, "Hi."

"Clark, why aren't you in school?" She returned his smile and sat down beside him laying a notepad on the table. He let out a long breath as he saw a long to do list written on it. Reading upside down really wasn't that hard.

"I finished a test early and felt like a coffee?" Okay, why was it that sometimes when he lied he made it seem like a question instead of a statement? Stupid. He didn't even have a cup on the empty table in front of him to validate his words. "You really are closing the Talon this weekend, huh?" Clark tried to look into her sweet hazel eyes with interest. It felt like forever since the last time he had talked to her. Oooo crying and rolling around in his own filth, now that wasn't a great memory to dreg up.

"Yeah. I'm going to miss it. But I came to realize that it was a part of my past, and I want to do so much more with my life then stay in Smallville forever."

"I know. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for in Paris... and well, don't forget to write."

Lana stared at him strangely. Why can't he get a useful power, like mind reading? Her smile seemed to waver before falling flat entirely. God. Wasn't he unintentionally pissing off everyone today, or what?

"What?"

Lana shrugged, "I just thought you'd try to talk me out of going some more."

"Oh." Clark guessed that meant that she wanted him to try to talk her out of it. Women tended to use that reverse psychology a lot. Too bad, he wasn't in the mood. "Well, I've been thinking, and I totally understand why you want to get away. This place can feel like a trap sometimes."

"Thanks. I'm glad you've seen things my way." She didn't appear happy though.

Clark started to examine the tabletop in displeasure as a disconcerting silence passed between them.

"So, why are you here looking all mopey, anyway?"

"I..." What would happen if he told her the truth? It could be interesting. "I kissed Lex."

Lana's eyes widened as her month fell open in a gasp. Not a great look on her. It seemed like she was trying to say something, and after a couple of times of not quite getting any actual words out, Lana was finally able to ask, "When?"

"Yesterday... and today."

Lana's brows pushed together in anger as she scrutinized him. "You know after all the times I practically begged you to be honest with me, why did you decide to start now?"

Clark mumbled, "Practice makes perfect, I guess."

"You're not telling me this in some warped way to try to stop me from leaving, are you?"

"No! Not everything is about you, Lana." Clark immediately felt terrible after seeing how hurt she looked at his unkind words. Some damage control was definitely necessary. "Sorry, I didn't mean it quite like that."

He watched her eyes freeze over as she glared at him harder. `Has it been an hour yet?'

"You know, Clark, you can be a real jerk sometimes." Lana picked up her notepad and seemed to be debating on whether to stand up or not.

"I'm having a very bad week." `Month, year... life.'

"Fine. Why have you been kissing Lex?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest in a defensive position.

"I don't know." `Because I really wanted to. Because, he makes me feel the way that you used to. Just because I could.'

"That isn't something you can call off as being some kind of accident. Clark, you've made out with me, Chloe, Jessie, Kyla, Alicia and God only knows who else. You can't keep on using people... we have feelings you know." `She'd been keeping track?'

"I know that."

"Really? You could have fooled me." She was absolutely pissed off at him now.

All Clark wanted to do was tell her to shut up, it wasn't any of her business anyway they weren't even a couple anymore, and he wasn't even sure if they had ever been one.

Lana appeared to have a different idea as she continued to rant, "All you've managed to prove to me is what a bad liar you are and that I can never count on you. You push people away, Clark. I don't know what to think about you anymore."

"It's too bad that you feel that way. But, you'd never understand what it's like to be me every single day."

"You think everyone is living in their own sweet paradise? No. Everyone has problems, I know I've had my share of them... do you think making out with Lex is gonna change his life or yours for the better?"

"I think I'm in love with him." Those words didn't just come out of his mouth, did they? Clark watched Lana's apparent disbelief flash across her face, it almost matched his own. See life can't get much more bizarre than this.

"If that's true, then I ask you one thing as a friend to you both. Don't treat him like you've treated me. He doesn't deserve it." Lana swiftly stood up from the table, and thundered away from Clark looking darker then a raging storm cloud. Clark had the vague notion that she may have actually been jealous.

Well, that went just super. Good thing the hour was almost up because Clark couldn't get out of the Talon fast enough. Going back to the mansion couldn't possibly get any worse than this.

Lex casually stood up from his desk, and noiselessly came over to Clark with a sunny smile upon his face. It did little to conceal his friend's true emotions from him. Clark knew too much about him now, so the worry and stress radiating off of Lex was glaringly apparent to him. Super.

Appearing nonchalant Lex asked, "How do you plan on stopping her?"

"I thought that I could try to reason with her some more, and if that didn't work... well I don't think she knows what powers I have, so I'd try some of them out." Clark watched as Lex's head seemed to nod slightly in agreement. "I would kinda need to test her limits and then try to find her weakness. Before she gets to me first."

"That all sounds really great and all, but what if she gets to you first? What are you going to do then... other than leave a good-looking alien corpse floor ornament?" Lex replied, appearing much too impressed with himself.

"I guess I'd have to try again tomorrow."

"Clark, what you don't seem to get is the fact that yesterday was a warning. A blatant threat against you. For all you know there's the distinct possibility that tomorrow may not come for you, to try again."

True, there was always that. But, it was so much easier to not think about that part of the equation. Lex was being too analytical and stuff. His friend really had no idea how many meteor mutants or enhanced people he had already dealt with in the past. There was so many of them that he couldn't count them all on his hands and feet together, and he had learned so much on how to handle tough out of control situations. Hell, their powers have ranged from being able to suck out heat, fat, life and youth... that's a lot of sucking, to becoming a bug boy, splitting into two people, or transporting into his bedroom at night and... that's one long list.

And Lex looked really good in that royal blue dress shirt. Trying to relax his tense muscles, Clark was slightly annoyed at how his mind kept pulling its way back to intimate sexual thoughts whenever Lex was near him now. He had to stay on topic and win this round against his overprotective friend before he honestly did go insane.

"Do you know where she is or not?"

Lex frowned, "Yes, I do."

Trying to sound a bit more intimidating, Clark asked again, "Where?"

There was no reply.

Clark glanced around, his eyes making their way around the dim room to his friend's large desk. It was messy. He'd never seen it look chaotic before with piles of papers covering almost every square inch of it. `Interesting.' One of the colored folders caught his eye and he began to walk towards it. X-raying the contents upside down, before he could see them with normal vision, Clark read the name Elizabeth Hoffman and Metropolis on several of the pages.

Just as he was about to open the green folder, a hand grasped Clark's shoulder close to where it met his neck. He stopped dead as Lex whispered into his left ear from behind him, "I'm going with you."

Clark shuddered at the dual sensations. No, that was a very bad idea. As the hand massaged him, the tip of Lex's nose brushed against his ear lobe and hot breath tickled the inside of his ear.

Squeaking out, "Okay." Clark leaned his head back into Lex as his friend's other hand pulled their very willing bodies together.

"We still have something else to discuss." The words feathered down Clark's neck as they flowed out of Lex's mouth. Oh my. If this was a diversionary tactic, he didn't mind one bit. The pressure of teeth made Clark turn 180 degrees and standing face to face with his new obsession he toyed with the possibilities.

"I know you have a warped room dedicated to me." Blue eyes widened with alarm. It was all about winning, games had to be played dirty in order to get to the next challenging but fun level. Tracing finger-tips along the back of Lex's scalp, he was pleased to watch his obsession gasp. Oh, how Clark would love to give him one long lick across his temple.

Clark grinned evilly and continued in a sultry voice, "It's really almost poetic in a, Lex Luthor, kind of way. Tell me, have you ever had any wet dreams about me?"

Their eyes met, and a million fantasies appeared to shine from Lex's gaze. "You've been haunting my dreams ever since you first saved me."

If his heart had strings, they were definitely being pulled at that very moment. The way Lex had said `saved me' made Clark believe that the meaning had gone far beyond saving his life. Had he really helped save his friend's soul?

"I'm selfish that way. Every time I save you, I'm keeping a piece of myself intact." How can a man look that beautiful? Innocence... it was a virtue that rarely crossed Lex's features, but right now it did and Clark instantly decided to cherish this moment for quite some time.

Then, Lex kissed him.

Their lips glided against each other before opening up to further indulgence. Remembering the night before and Lex's wanton exploration of his body, Clark resolved to do some discovering himself. He cupped Lex's ass with both of his hands and hungrily squeezed it while grinding their groins against each other. Their bodies felt glued together as Clark took a steady step backwards to lean against the desk. Trying to ignore the throbbing hardness in his pants that demanded attention, Clark nuzzled against Lex's pale neck feathering kisses down the side of it.

Panting, Lex pulled back and moaned before moving again towards him to suck and bite on Clark's bottom lip, the wonderful pressure caused him to lick at Lex's flawless teeth and hiss with pleasure. Once again their mouths joined together in harmony. Seeming to seek out some sort of release to an ache that must have been there for quite some time, Lex started to undo Clark's jeans. The vibration of the zipper being lowered had never been such a turn on before.

Leaving one hand on a hard cheek, Clark stroked Lex's lower back in encouragement as Lex's hand glided under the elastic band of his boxers. The tantalizing movement by his crotch caused Clark to yearn for the feeling of bare skin against his own. Drawing back Clark slid both of his hands to the front of Lex's chest and ripped his shirt wide open. The sound of torn fabric sent a thrill up his spine as the buttons flew into several directions.

Lex smirked, "That's the second time you've done that. A couple more and it may become a bad habit."

Yes, it would. Then again, maybe it already had. Blushing Clark glanced down at the hand that was still clasped somewhat under the top of his underwear. The obvious bulge of his erection was inches from Lex's touch, and Clark grinned as he replied, "I want to tear the rest of your clothes off too." God, touch me... feel me Lex, now!

The whites of Lex's eyes flashed for a second before he lunged forward and grabbed Clark's sweater, pulling it over his head with one swift yank. Wow. Clear want and need came out of Lex in the form of a long deep groan as Clark returned the favor by shredding the rest of Lex's shirt. Dipping his head down to quickly nip and lick at Lex's right nipple Clark abruptly continued lower and tore the clasp and button to Lex's pants. Before he could do any more, Lex grabbed onto his shoulders and tugged upwards.

Standing face to face again, Lex strangely appeared to be very concerned for him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Absolutely, one hundred percent, yes."

Clark let his eyes linger on Lex's well toned and highly attractive body. Ooooh, he had freckles. Placing a finger on one of the small dots, he traced it from one to another and another, slowly moving his hand across Lex's smooth pecks. Lex quivered under his gentle massage until he couldn't seem to hold back any longer and he seized Clark in another passionate embrace.

Their naked torso's brushed together as Clark moaned out encouragements for new sensations. He felt like he was flying, soaring above the heavens, and joyfully unafraid of doing so. Being in Lex's arms was so soothing and erotic at the same time, he wanted more. Then the world started spinning and spinning. And, spinning. `Fuck not now.'

As the full onslaught of dizziness and nausea hit, Clark cried out as his knees buckled from under him. Falling backwards and forcefully taking Lex with him, Clark smashed through the desk behind him sending shards of glass, files and folders of papers flying everywhere. Lex landed hard on top of him with an unpleasant sounding oomph. That had been the worst case yet. Why did he keep getting dizzy spells?

"Lex, are you okay?"

Grunting as he rolled off of Clark, Lex seized his left arm with his right hand and proceeded to pull out a large jagged piece of glass from his bicep. Shit. Clark super-sped to the bathroom and grabbed a large towel then just as quickly returned before Lex could have acknowledged the fact that he'd been gone.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened, I just felt really sick for a couple seconds." Clark inspected the wound seeing that it would certainly need stitches. It was a mid-sized but deep gash that had broken Lex's skin in a slightly erratic diagonal line. Applying pressure with the white towel, Clark felt ill for a totally different reason as he watched the cloth quickly turn red.

"It's all right. I've had worse." Lex stared at him with an amazed expression before he took his good hand and felt Clark's bare and yet unblemished back. Under Lex's close supervision, a few small pieces of glass fell off of his slightly damp body. At the moment, it was obvious to Clark that Lex was much more interested in Clark's lack of physical damage than his own bleeding arm.

Lex seemed highly pleased about witnessing some of Clark's powers first hand: invulnerability and super-speed, and he just wouldn't stop staring at Clark like he was a magical Leprechaun. Maybe it was shock? Hell, just his luck this whole event could lead to Lex obsessing about him for the rest of the day. Not that it wouldn't be flattering. `What did Lex just say again?'

"Really, when?" Frowned Clark. The thought of a severely hurt Lex screaming in agony made him want to hunt down whomever had been responsible and... and do something rash, again.

Panting a bit uneasily, Lex leaned against Clark and replied, "Ah, during my alleged misbegotten youth, of course." Lex grumbled a bit in pain, finally seeming to feel the burn of his injury, even though it didn't appear to Clark that his friend's interest in his abilities had waned any. One day, curiosity really would kill Lex.

"Can anything normal hurt you?"

"No. Do you want me to take you to the hospital? I could drive... or?" Clark had led Lex to a nearby chair, helped him in it, and was fretting over Lex like a mother hen on speed.

A forced smile lit up Lex's slightly fevered looking face. "Stop acting like Mrs. Kent. I'm not dying for Christ-sake."

"Well something has to be done. Any suggestions?"

"Let me think for a second." Lex closed his eyes and sighed.

Letting his head rest gently on Lex's right shoulder, while at the same time Clark continued to lay pressure on Lex's hurt arm, Clark realized that the only thing he could hear was the beating of their hearts. He swore that they had synchronized in a perfect rhythm together. And as Clark slowly relaxed and started breathing slower so did Lex.

"Can you find my phone in there somewhere, using your...?"

"Sure."

First tearing a long strip of cloth from the towel and tying it in a semi-professional tourniquet around Lex's arm, Clark then proceeded to x-ray the mess on the floor. Seeing the small rectangular object, he bent over and dug his hand into the far right corner of chaos. "What number do you want me to dial?"

As Lex recited the seven numbers from memory, Clark noticed that his friend's pants were almost falling off. If Lex stood up too fast they probably would. The tattered front opening reminded Clark of how close they had come to fully crossing over the line of friendship and into an entirely different area altogether. `Maybe it had been a bit too fast.'

Lex held his left arm up at a forty-five degree angle as he took the phone that as offered to him. Waiting impatiently Clark listened to the three rings before a sleepy and irritated sounding voice answered the phone.

"What?!"

"Toby, I'm in the need of your services. How soon can you arrive at the mansion?"

An even dozen stitches, it was one dozen too many. Clark had watched in special technicolor as the little metal needle had slowly sewn Lex's flesh together, and it had been an equally fascinating and gut wrenching experience. He was becoming increasingly frustrated with these unpredictable bouts of vertigo, and the fact that this last one had caused Lex physical damage made a well of rage occur deep within him at the injustice of it all. This whole bitter situation was giving Clark way too much grief. `What would have to be done to finally end it?'

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lex's voice suddenly interrupted his musings.

Clark blinked twice before ineloquently replying in a defensive manner, "Huh? Like what? I wasn't doing anything."

"I know you're still blaming yourself for what happened. So stop it."

"I..."

Lex caressed his arm in an intimate manner, "I heal really fast." He grinned with a hint of mischief at Clark.

Oh God. It was like they were playing the `you show me yours I'll show you mine' game. A sudden unknown fear coursed through his body as Clark pushed himself away and took a couple of steps backwards wanting to get Lex out of his personal space.

"Well that's great. I'll try to worry less about all those concussions you keep getting then." `That was rude.'

Now eyeing him seriously, Lex seemed dejected by his offhand comment and actions, "The helicopter should be here soon. You should put your shirt back on." In a form of dismissal, his friend then turned and began to walk away.

`Helicopter? Oh, but of course, Lex would want them to get to Metropolis as fast as possible. And yes, I enjoy walking around shirtless and having Toby give me multiple `look's' that is another highlight to this wonderful day.' Sighing, Clark began to wander around looking at the floor.

Finding his sweater was a bit harder than he had first thought. Lex's maid had taken it upon herself to clean up the mess in the office room and had put his discarded clothing in with the wash. Sifting though his friend's dirty laundry had felt weird. It was almost somewhere in between stalkerish and homey. Having thoughts of taking showers together, smelling Lex's undergarments, and being taken to graduation by a guy like a couple `couple' sent Clark's mind in a tail-spin. Maybe tomorrow being Saturday wouldn't be such a great thing after all. Getting involved with Lex in such an intimate way couldn't be even close to being one of his better ideas as of late. What was he thinking making out with him and flirting all the time? `Why did life suck so bad?'

Thump thump thump thump thump

The sleek silver blades twirled around and around in an almost nauseating fashion. Strangely enough, Clark had never used Lex's air transportation before, and the vibrating and scary swaying back and forth motions were making him wish that he had never gotten on the damn thing in the first place. Laying his head against the hard metal wall, Clark realized that time felt like it had been skipping for the past couple of hours, shifting, stopping or jumping forward without him noticing until it seemed too late to comment about it. `Stress maybe?'

His eyes discreetly scanned the interior until they rested on one subdued Lex Luthor and on further inspection it looked like his friend was preparing to go to war. `He'd better not be planning on doing anything stupid.' Lex's left arm was tightly wrapped underneath a white business shirt which matched the rest of his friend's suit perfectly. Other then Lex keeping his arm mostly straight, no one would know that it was injured.

Not having spoken a civil word to Lex since he had rebuked his friend's little teasing earlier, Clark was now plagued by guilt at having done so. He had no idea why it had bothered him at the time, but there was no way he felt like apologizing for it. Pride, one of the seven deadly sins, Clark remembered Lex telling him about them at one time... he'd like to remember who had made them up in the first place, deadly was an awfully extreme term to describe them. Then again, Lex had given him numerous examples of how pride had lead to many a historical figure's demise. Lex was kinda morbid that way in knowing so much about that sorta stuff to begin with, but it had been quite entertaining.

"So, does your dad know you're doing this?"

Lex squinted at him as if he were an insignificant bug, "Definitely."

"I don't want to see him today." Clark grimaced at that nasty thought.

"Neither do I."

So idle chit-chat wasn't going to work, joy. He could feel the air pressure change as they began to descend towards one of the city's skyscrapers. Hating to look out of the nearby window and down, Clark finally leaned over, unsurprised at seeing the glaring LuthorCorp sign growing larger with each passing second.

He so did not want to see Lionel.

"Fancy seeing you here, Clark. I wasn't expecting to see Lex until tomorrow."

It had been impossible to get around the fact that Lionel Luthor would be greeting them before their ride had touched down onto the landing pad. Clark knew that he appeared physically repulsed by the person now standing directly in front of him. Willing himself not to accidentally turn on his heat vision, Clark also decided to try not to punch the bastard in the chest and break all of his precious ribs.

"I'd heard that Lex had some pressing matters to attend to after receiving notice of an unscheduled usage of my helicopter. I had assumed at the time that the need for its services was for some business matter, but it looks like I've been mistaken." Lionel didn't seem too affected by Clark's murderous gaze before shifting his interrogation onto Lex.

"Son, I told you that you're not allowed to use the copter for trivial personal reasons anymore and I would appreciate it if you refrained from doing so again in the future."

Lex's expression darkened further in anger, "I will let you know that there is nothing trivial about it, and it is none of your concern as to why Clark is here."

"Tut-tut, there's nothing to get emotional about. I was simply stating the facts. Whenever you are done with whatever it is you plan on doing, I must insist that you meet me back here, alone." Clark could see a hint of danger in Lionel's eyes. `You betrayed me, your own father.' Focusing his eyes into x-ray mode Clark gritted his teeth at seeing the gun that was strapped to Lionel's left breast.

Before Lex could reply Clark spoke with an unusual amount of venom, "I don't think he'll have time for you today."

"Really? Aren't we being the brazen one?" Lionel chuckled at Clark's display of bravado, "I see that you have acquired a backbone since our last meeting. Though, I think a little more tact could have been in order. Lex, maybe you could learn something from him?" Leaning over, Lionel patted at Lex's injured arm like Lex was his own personal dog.

"Why? Because you're so perfect and civilized? Please, don't make me puke all over you. I wouldn't want your slaves to have to clean up the mess." Taking a step forward, Clark whispered into Lionel's ear, "If you ever touch Lex again, I'll rip your arm off."

Lionel's mouth gapped open in stunned shock as Lex grabbed onto Clark's arm too tightly with his good arm. The strangle hold was most likely meant to cause him pain, it didn't of course, but it did cause Clark to shut up and glance away.

Hastily Lex efficiently maneuvered Clark behind him while taking a few steps backwards. "Well it's best if we get going. It seems like my pressing matters are more urgent than I had originally thought. See you later dad." Giving Clark's left hand a hard tug, they were through the main door, off the roof and standing in front of the nearest elevator before Lionel could say `boo hoo.'

Clark hoped that the private elevator could whisk them away from Lionel's wrath in time for them to make a quick escape, but he highly doubted it. And the confining space only escalated his anxiety about meeting Elizabeth again, for what he prayed would be the last time. Plus, there was one small detail of Lex being none too pleased with him at the moment either.

In an irritated voice Lex finally spoke to him, "Did you have to say that?"

"Yes, and I'm feeling quite liberated in doing so."

"Well I'm so glad you had fun. I can see why you wouldn't care if you pissed off my dad," the `or me' kinda hung unspoken in the air, "because if this confrontation doesn't work with this woman of yours then he'd be none the wiser tomorrow anyway-"

Clark cut him off waving his hands around a bit haphazardly, "Lex, he knows about you having him investigated remember, and that fact isn't just going to go away. He's dangerous. Look what he's already done to you, I practically saw him murder you in cold blood."

"Parallel universes with infinite possibilities. I haven't forgotten what you told me, but I'm also aware that the day before and the day after that incident happened I made it through mostly unscathed. This leads me to believe that I'm relatively safe at the present time." Lex still appeared angry with him.

"That's easy for you to say, you weren't really there."

"What you tend to forget Clark, is that all of this is simply one big chess game to him. And, he doesn't plan on having it end, win or loose, anytime soon. What happened the other day I expect would have been a grievous error on his part. Poor Dad would have been terribly upset knowing that I wouldn't be making anymore pathetic advances to `challenge' him in the future. How dreadfully boring that prospect must have been for him." Turning to glare at Clark, Lex continued, "It's my job to constantly keep one step ahead of him, and you just made it a great deal harder by being an ass."

"And you're Mr. Perfect? Give me a break! I'm sick with Luthor games, why can't you just act like normal people. Tell me what you really want or feel instead of secretly making your next move. I'm not anyone's pawn." `How dare Lex call me an ass!'

"Is that what this is all about? Fine. Why did you have me believe that you wanted me, only to start acting like a prick for no apparent reason, huh?" Lex appeared hurt and terribly vulnerable standing in front of him as his whole body trembled with pent up emotion. "I'd love to know the answer to that."

Clark closed his eyes to the icy blue stare and yelled, "I don't know why I acted like that! I don't know why I keep getting sick! I don't know why you keep getting hurt when I'm around! I don't know why this stuff has to happen! I don't know, Lex." Opening his eyes, he stared sadly into Lex's, "I just don't know."

An eerie calm filled the room as the elevator came to an abrupt stop, and as the doors opened there were unsurprisingly several beefy security guards standing a couple of feet away staring at him and Lex like the obedient dogs they were.

"We are here to detain you both until further notice."

`Not this and not now.' Clark glared at them, "I don't think so." daring them to try using any physical force against him in order to stop them from striding out of that damned building.

The four uniformed men moved with determination, taking on a much more offensive position around them. Violence, he was so close to some good old fashioned violence.

"Gentlemen, why don't we all stay calm here? There's no need for any misunderstandings." Lex appeared to single out the leader of the group and then he confidently advanced towards the man closest to the elevator that they had just walked out of. Pleasantly smiling at the man while sounding totally sincere, he continued, "I'm sure my father inadvertently forgot to tell me something of vital importance. He hasn't been in good health lately, and I've been quite worried about his well-being." Taking his cell phone out of his suit jacket pocket, Lex flipped it open, "I'll have this all sorted out in a matter of minutes. You know how irritable and impatient he can be when he's under the weather." By the look on the head security man's face, he seemed to agree; then again Lionel was always a grumpy bastard.

Waiting patiently, Clark berated himself for getting so angry and tried not to look too intimidating while staring at his large leather boots. A few feet away from him, Lex had to do some extensive damage control over what Clark had said, plus his friend promised to meet his dad later that evening with the purpose of ensuring his `continued welfare'. Lionel seemed to find that remark to be quite humorous while it made Clark's gut wrench. Several minutes later, they were authorized to leave.

Lex was a brilliant mediator.

"You rock." Grinning, Clark had never been happier to look upon a crowd of hurried people and breathe in a rush of polluted air.

"Do I roll too?"

"Can I give you a shove and find out?"

"As grand of a gesture as that may be, I'll have to decline." Lex scoffed. His friend rapidly picked up the pace as they crossed a busy intersection. Clark had no idea where they were going. It was now past noon and he was extremely hungry.

Slightly having to lengthen his strides to keep up, Clark decided to try to apologize for his earlier behavior, "About before... I-"

Lex stopped dead, almost making Clark crash into the side of him as he clearly remarked, "You don't have to say anything else, just leave it be."

Clark let the subject drop. It would be so much easier for both of them to pretend that nothing had happened, anyway. This being a normal routine of theirs for the last few years, made him feel not quite as bad about their minor quarrel as what he could have. Forced ignorance, deception and lies had practically become a way of life.

"So, where are we going?"

"I thought that it was `imperative'" Lex practically smirked at the very un-Clark- like word, realizing that Clark had probably tried to use a word he thought was appropriate for speaking with him, "that you speak with Elizabeth Hoffman today, therefore, we will be seeing her shortly. That reminds me..." Pulling out a small envelope from his left breast pocket, Lex then handed him a small picture, "Is this her?"

It looked like a mug shot, or maybe a bad driver's license photo, either way the woman didn't appear too terribly happy. She was fair, a bit on the pale side, had shoulder length and wavy blonde hair, piercing grey eyes, high cheek bones and a narrow pointed nose. Clark had never studied her face this closely before and it was a bit strange to see how overall haunted her features seemed to be. She looked older than 26, it had to be the eyes. `This was too depressing.'

"Yeah."

Lex nodded silently, then took the piece of paper from him and neatly placed it back into his jacket.

Clark was on the verge of asking Lex where they were going and what he was planning on doing next when he was assaulted by such a strong surge of dizziness that Clark fell to his knees. Feeling too weak to stand back up, Clark wrapped his arms around his raging mid-section as his vision became blurred by dancing red and green spots.

"Clark!"

A comforting hand surrounded his upper body in a concerned hug, and Lex began to slowly rub soothing circles on his back with his right hand. It felt very nice. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm fine." Clark tried and failed at standing back up, "I guess, I should have told you this earlier but I've been getting these dizzy spells more often the last few days." Clark let his head slump forward as Lex now steadily massaged his shoulder. Smelling and feeling Lex's wonderful closeness bought back pleasant memories of their most recent sexual encounter. Fancy cars and Italian cakes. What other expensive delicacies could Lex introduce him too? As he felt a lengthening pressure in his crotch, Clark noticed that he definitely wasn't feeling sick to his stomach anymore. Stress and hormones did very bad things.

Lex's apprehensive sounding voice came from just over his right ear, "Has this type of thing ever happened to you before?"

"Before the never-ending Friday? No, unless you count the... meteor rocks. And I don't think I've been around any lately." In all of his informative discussions with Lex over the past couple of days, Clark had purposely left out the fact that kryptonite made him weak and ill. He was now sure that Lex suspected something about the rocks from the Luthor mansion's informative room. Which was kinda okay. But it still made him extremely nervous to let his friend know how abundant his Achilles' heel was. Pure trust was something Clark didn't give freely away unless he absolutely had to.

Lex stilled behind him, and before his friend could say anything Clark continued, "Up until today, I was trying to mostly ignore them, but they're getting a lot worse. I get so nauseous and weak. Then you got hurt. And I can't stop the feeling that I've been missing something important."

Immediately, Lex's hand left his back as Clark heard him stand and straighten the sleeve of his suit jacket before he sternly said, "We should get off the sidewalk and go to somewhere a bit less public. Then, you are going to tell me, in detail, everything that you forgot to mention to me before."

It was weird to watch Lex almost fumble with his phone as his friend called someone telling them that, `it was a go' and `pick us up in ten minutes.'

He'd made Lex mad at him again. This time not because of what he'd said, but because of what he hadn't said. So what? It's not like he hadn't told Lex every other damn thing about himself. For all he knew, Lex could have been planning a ton of crap behind his back earlier while he had been pretending to have coffee at the Talon. Why did he really have to tell Lex his life story to get his help anyway? Lex would do what ever the hell Clark wanted him to do because he loved him and Lex- God, he needed to calm down.

The wait gave him some time to think rationally and Clark came up with the final conclusion that Lex was mostly just worried about him and detested the fact that Clark did have a weakness that Elizabeth, and any other of his enemies, could find out about. `Simple as mom's home made apple pie.' His parents! Clark kept forgetting about them during these away adventures, mostly because Lex had the resources to help him way more than his mom or dad ever could. They would know that he hadn't gone to school by now and would be worried sick about him. He had been neglecting his parents and other friends the past few days and feeling more guilt he promised himself to rectify that tomorrow no matter what.

A chauffeured black limousine smoothly pulled up to their position on the pavement and took them, at Clark's request for food, to a nearby Japanese restaurant, where they now had their own private paper windowed room to themselves.

"I don't believe in coincidences. Think really hard Clark, how many times have you been having unforeseen vertigo?"

"Well, the first time would have been on the second- No wait, third Friday night. Then, it has happened at least once or twice a day after that, always at different times." Shaking his head and eating a large mouthful of white rice with a fork Clark continued, "I really don't think that I can remember all of them correctly, some of the instances I may have been near kryptonite or thought that it was just nerves finally getting to me from all the stress."

"Is that all you can remember?"

Not knowing where Lex had gotten all of his energy from such a small bowl of weird chicken-ish tasting soup, Clark glanced at his friend's constant movements around him. He guessed that Lex didn't want to try using chop-sticks with his right hand and that eating the food with western cutlery would have been beneath him in some way. `Rich snob.' So, Clark continued eating his main course alone.

"You do know that this is kinda stressful right now. I may have sounded perfect to you before in my speech earlier today, but I can't do everything instantly on demand. Even with all of my `amazing' powers." Clark groaned.

Lex sighed. Clutching at his left arm in definite pain, Lex continued to pace near him. Lex was in pain because of him. And because of him, his friend might even die again today. `Damn it.' Maybe he felt guiltier about Lex getting hurt then he had previously thought. He now knew how afraid he really was and that's what was mostly stressing him out so much. Afraid for and of Lex at the same time. Quickly shutting his eyes and taking a sip of green tea, Clark tried to think of something that could make Lex feel better and wondered if his friend should take some more pain killers as he anxiously looked back up to peer into Lex's bright blue eyes. Blue.

And then Clark remembered one of the last things he had seen from the night before, "Elizabeth. I felt sick around her at the bar yesterday, especially after she went all glowing eyed on me. I suppose they could be connected in some way."

Lex finally stilled and sat back down, "That could be a definite possibility."

"Where is she anyway? You told me you knew where she was. "

"I originally located Elizabeth at her residence this morning and I've had a couple of my men tracking her since then. They've been ordered to-" Cutting himself off, Lex looked at Clark stunned.

`That's strange.' Clark asked, "To what?"

A couple of silent beats went by, in which Lex stared thoughtfully at Clark before he answered, "Subdue her once she is alone."

"What!?" Clark bolted out of his small wooden seat in a fit of anger. "Lex, I can't believe you. I should have known you would try to do something behind my back. She's gonna find out that they're connected with you and get even more pissed." The only thing stopping Clark from shaking some sense into his friend was Lex's injured arm. He had to see Elizabeth now; damn he'd been procrastinating too long already. Why didn't he make Lex tell him were she was when he was back in Smallville? Why, because he was too busy thinking with his dick. `Fuck this.'

Intent upon tearing though the flimsy door in front of him, Clark began to stride towards it. Lex intervened by grabbing onto his sweater which grotesquely stretched out of shape, while pleading to him, "Clark. Stop! You have to understand that I'm trying to help you. You think I'm just going to stand by and let you go after her- alone? I'm your friend. Please-"

"Lex, you want to know why I pushed you away before? Because I'm scared shitless. For you. About you. And, I won't let you die again."

"I'm willing to take that chance. It's my choice to want to die with you than to let you sacrifice yourself on your own." Lex hugged him. Now face to face, Clark could see un-shed tears in his friend's sorrowful eyes.

Whispering softly, Lex continued, "All the best tragedies end that way, and as a bonus we would be remembered as heroes for saving this miserable planet. In memoriam, parties and celebrations would be held for centuries. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow." Lex smiled teasingly at his ironically wrong statement. "Odds seem to favour the chances that we'll most likely get to try this all over again anyway."

Clark felt safe in Lex's arms, and gently lowered his head resting his chin onto Lex's right shoulder. This whole situation was kinda funny. He didn't want Lex going anywhere near Elizabeth and Lex didn't want Clark going near her either, but at the same time they both wanted to have a fateful rendezvous with one femme fatale.

"I wish this could be over with already."

Clark sighed and closed his eyes as he felt Lex nod in agreement. "There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

`Hamlet? Lex loved the tragic hero didn't he?' Then again the Luthor's were a rather tragic family. William Shakespeare would have had a field day writing a play about them.

At the very least, Clark had to find out something of value about Elizabeth. She was so livid with him the last time he saw her, she hadn't really told him very much of value. `What would she do next?'

Continuing to hold on to Lex with affection, Clark smiled. Whatever happened, they were going to face their destinies together.

Centennial Park, one of the city's most picturesque areas, was located in the heart of Metropolis. A sea of green grass surrounded by tranquil forest and small man-made lakes, with many different types of fowl, gave the false impression of security. The park had quite a few people in it for a warm spring Friday afternoon. There were people playing tennis and baseball while the playgrounds overflowing with school children. A zoo and an art museum were also within a short walking distance and in this nice weather many individuals were strolling through the park on their way home from work or other errands.

Clark looked off into the distance and saw a beautiful silhouette of a woman in bronze that was gracing the center of a large fountain where a few couples and children were wading in up to their knees. They looked so happy and innocent. These people here were just trying to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life not realizing that they could just as easily get robbed or murdered. `Stop being so morbid.'

He turned to glance at Lex who stood nearby, wondering how much longer it would take before he ran screaming back to Smallville. Metropolis could never be his home, this was Lex's world not his. Lex, whose smell lingered all over his clothes and wouldn't stop bringing thoughts of arousal into Clark's fevered mind. Now staring, he watched as his friend stood passionately talking into his high-tech cell phone, before looking in front of himself at his moving target.

By an old cobblestone pathway still used by horse-drawn carriages, Clark watched Elizabeth, carrying what appeared to be grocery bags, gradually walking away from him till she rounded a corner and disappeared from his sight. Using his x-ray vision, he surveyed the area around them looking for Lex's men. Peering through assorted vegetation, natural landmarks and other people it took him almost a full minute to figure out which ones they were. There where three men, two far ahead of her and one off to the side, all carrying an assortment of weapons. At least his friend seemed to have hired professionals, this time; some of his past acquaintances weren't always quite so subtle.

"No one will be entering from the west-side due to a `gas-line rupture'? Good. Make sure that we are not interrupted. Fifteen minutes." Lex abruptly turned his phone off and joined Clark at his advantage point which was on a small incline at the end of a grove of bushes. "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Do you still insist on coming with me?" Clark felt apprehensive about meeting her again, but pushing any lingering fear aside Clark was intent to end this confrontation today with some sort of resolution.

"Yes."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Clark stepped forward and strode onto the pathway at a pace Lex would hardly be able to keep up with. Strangely, his friend didn't complain for the first couple of seconds.

"You know I was always partial to the method of `shoot first ask questions later.' This is too unpredictable." Lex huffed behind him.

"Is that what happened with Roger Nixon?"

Lex sounded generally disconcerted. "No. There wasn't any time for questions."

"Sorry, I'm very grateful that you saved my dad and me, even if you knew each other in some way." Clark replied offhandedly, trying to focus up ahead. "She shouldn't be too far in front of us. Try to let me do the talking."

As they walked around the bend of trees, the path in front of them turned into a long straight line that was void of people. A dozen or so yards ahead lay a couple of abandoned shopping bags. `This is so not good.' Looking to either side, Clark couldn't see any identifiable paths leading off of the one they were currently on, and a prickling sensation ran down his spine as Clark failed to locate Elizabeth. It was like she had magically ceased to exist.

The dialing of a phone behind him made Clark quickly turn around and grab for Lex's cell phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Contacting Mr. Rousseau, why?"

Clark hung up the phone and tensely answered, "Don't, I need to think."

"Great, this is just great. We're screwed. She must have rabbit'ed. I knew I should never have listened to you." Lex angrily snatched the phone back and advanced towards the bags like they held nuclear bombs, first poking them a bit before finally opening one of them to look inside. "Eggplant, tomatoes, onions, garlic, thyme, parsley, lamb- maybe she was planning on making Mousekka for dinner?"

"She's still nearby. I'm sure of it." The trees surrounding them grew quiet making Clark even more nervous as the sound of insects seemed to disappear. Closing his eyes, he narrowed his hearing to search for something normal and he was glad to hear the sound of a nearby water fountain over the noise of Lex rifling through the plastic bags. Then a bizarre whining reverberation filled his ears.

"Lex Luthor. I can't understand why you are always with this boy?"

Clark twisted his body around to see a startled Lex kneeling in the dirt with Elizabeth standing directly above him. Unless she teleported, there was no way she could have done that. Fear coursed through his veins as Clark panicked about Lex's safety. Watching Elizabeth, with eyes glowing blue, reach out and touch Lex's injured arm, Clark screamed. "Get away from him!"

Super-speeding with the intent to shove her away from his friend, Clark hit into some kind of invisible barrier inches away from her and rebounded backwards onto the ground. She turned to glare down at him with an outraged expression coming from her glowing blue eyes, when a sudden and piercing blast made Clark grab onto the sides of his head. His over-sensitive ears protested the assault but it wasn't actually painful. Lex and Elizabeth on the other hand were convulsing on the ground in agony. `What the hell was going on?' The shrill ringing continued on in the same amount of wave-like force as Clark got up and swiftly ran over to the couple laying on the ground next to each other in fetal positions. Trying to locate the sound, Clark was astonished to find that the noise seemed to be coming from Lex. Stooping over him, Clark pin-pointed the sound's source in his friend's left jacket pocket. Horrified to see actual blood start to seep out of Lex's ear Clark seized the object and crushed it. It had been his fucking cell phone.

Moaning and sweating profusely, Elizabeth pushed herself up onto her haunches and shrieked, "Bastards!" Her blonde hair was now matted against her skull and wild darting eyes made her appear even sicker than Lex who lay unconscious on his lap, while her floral dress was wrinkled, dirty and had hiked up to her knees.

Clark couldn't believe Lex would do something so stupid as to cause self-inflicted pain like this. And Lex was complaining to him about self-sacrifice.

Lex was out of commission, but not only that, it would be damn near impossible to talk to her now. Conflicted, he wasn't sure what to do, tend to Lex or the crazy women next to him. There was also the probability that Lex's men would be jumping out of the bushes any second now. What was he supposed to do?

"Who are you?" She hissed.

"My name is Clark Kent. I'm really sorry about what just happened, my friend is a little over-protective of me. He's dangerous when startled."

"Dangerous?" Her laugh was full of malice and certainty, "You know nothing about him."

"Oh, and I'm sure you do. Everyone thinks they know Lex, and say they know he'll do all of these lousy things and be like his father, but no one takes the time to get to know him."

"Time?" She laughed bitterly.

"You don't have the right to say that." `Stop provoking the emotionally unstable woman, who can kill you by doing that glowing eyes thing.' Clark's internal voice yelled at him. And how could she claim to know anything about Lex? Clark knew him better than anyone.

"I can do whatever the fuck I want and you... Both of you were stalking me!"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"About what? The weather? Or the birds and the bees? Mr. Shit-for-brains Kent, I don't want to talk with you or your little rich bitch."

Lex began to stir. This was going nowhere, and she would soon be strong enough to do what ever it was she could do. "Elizabeth, isn't there some other way to save your husband then doing this?"

"No. It's inoperable."

`It's inoperable?' Of course, this was a brilliant moment for Lex to come back to reality. Roughly pushing himself out of Clark's embrace, Lex shakily stood and took an offensive stance next to him before saying, "I can have the finest doctor's in the state give you both a second opinion."

"I've already got a second and a third, there isn't time. I don't need you." Dragging herself off the compacted soil, she screamed, "Stop bothering me!"

Now standing up as well, Clark was at a loss of what to say.

Lex wiped the underside of his nose as a small trickle of blood ran down the side of his top lip. "You can't keep doing this forever, it simply isn't logical. If he's suffering in anyway, all you're doing is prolonging his torment. Wouldn't it be best to let it end now before drawing it out even further?"

Elizabeth looked like a lost child. "He's not in any pain. It... it comes sudden and swift and just sucks the life right out of him so fast... and, and he doesn't have time to feel much pain before it's over with."

`Oh my God! She watches her husband die every night?' That's wrong on so many levels. There was no way he'd be able to watch anyone he loved die over and over knowing that there was no way to truly save them. Clark had no idea what to say to that.

Hearing approaching foot steps, Clark looked and saw that Mr. Rousseau and friends would be making an appearance shortly.

Seemingly detached, Lex narrowed his eyes and replied, "You're sick. In a vain attempt at mercy, you have turned your husband into a modern Prometheus while you have become an egotistical murderer who has no understanding of what consequences your choices may have."

Silently, Clark shrieked inside his head at his friend. `Lex why did you have to go and say that?'

Elizabeth scowled at Lex before advancing towards them like a vulture. Clark struggled to move as her eyes gleamed blue, but his feet along with the rest of his body refused to budge. Beside him, Lex appeared to be having the same problem.

Moving forward she violently grabbed on to their upper arms, Lex's left and his right and stated, "You think you're so mighty and perfect? Let's see what your futures hold."

They both howled as strobe-like memories exploded into Clark's mind, impairing him from thinking about anything else as it was overloaded with too much sensory information.

Blackness became an intense white light. Love. Strong wind pushing past his face. Warm sun in an endless sky. Stars and planets passing him by that were extremely too close; he was flying towards the sun. An enchanting crystal palace surrounded by a blizzard of snow and ice. People dying. Mudslides and earthquakes. Everyone caught in these natural disasters called for some sort of super-man. A strange pentagonal shaped image with an S was on his chest. Him. They wanted him. Lana in a beautiful flowing white grown standing at a church alter; he watched her with the rest of the guests from afar. Joyful. Smiling, asking questions to some politician and writing in a notebook. War. Explosions from continual bombings and gun-fire. Death and hate. A strange masked man wearing all black with a long flowing cape. He had a cape on too, it was red. They were standing on the top of a skyscraper monitoring the city's people like sheep. Pride and envy. Woman wearing a golden crown with long dark hair calling him Kal-El. Nervously pushing a pair of glasses up his nose. Famine. The earth was dying. It was poisoned. Air, water and land had become deadly to anything living. Metropolis from above shinning an eerie green. Home. Smallville. Friends and family all gathered around cheering. He was their hero. Pain. Full of grief and despair. A casket lowering into the ground in front of him, while his mother sobbed in his arms. The marble tombstone had has father's name engraved upon it. An over-welling feeling of loneness engulfing his heart. Failure. Long past broken friendship now bitter enemies. Lex brandishing an unknown weapon while sneering at him in disgust. `Quod incepimus conficiemus.'

The last vision ended with another blinding flash of light. Lex had been saying something to him in Latin but he had no idea what it meant. Clark took note that they were now both sprawled together on the ground again, in a tangle of limbs and clothes, before he become aware of the commotion happening a few feet away from them.

Elizabeth, who had at some point joined them in the dirt, was trying to weakly fight off two large men while a third guy with curly reddish brown hair watched and was giving some kind of orders over his cell phone. Both men standing nearest to her were holding pistol shaped weapons. She was moving in a disjointed manner first towards one man and then the other cursing and mumbling incoherently. A faint mechanical humming happened at the same time as Elizabeth's whole body went into a spasm of twitching and jerking motions. They had to be Taser guns. Realizing this, Clark could finally see the thin metal wires that ran from the launcher to around her midsection where four tiny darts had imbedded into her clothing and skin. By the looks of it this must have been at least the second time they'd zapped her with electric shocks.

"Stop it!"

Clark disarmed the two men before they could press their triggers a third time and freed Elizabeth from her torturous restraints. She fell limply into his arms. Holding her easily, Clark began to contemplate his next move.

The man with the phone that was still at the side of his head, appeared stunned as his sudden movements, "Mr. Kent. We have orders to incapacitate this woman if any harm were to befall you. We are sorry that we weren't able to arrive sooner." This must be Rousseau. The man continued forward while looking behind Clark with open concern, "Mr. Luthor, are you in need of medical assistance?"

"No. I'll be fine." Lex approached Clark from behind and once he was within view he appeared far from fine. Covered in blood and dirt wasn't what made his friend look the worst, it was his eyes. They were staring right through him in a disturbed way. `What had Lex been forced to see in his future?'

"Clark, it's your choice. You can do whatever you want with her, I don't care." Lex's left arm hung limply to his side as he walked past him without any other emotion, causing Clark to feel somewhat rejected by his friend. Not knowing why Lex was suddenly acting aloof towards him, Clark frowned down at the comatose woman in his arms wanting to just let her fall to the ground and run away from this whole crappy situation in this whole crappy world.

"It doesn't really matter what I want, does it?"

Lex stilled his back that was towards Clark, while he awkwardly leaned to one side, "You always want something."

`What the hell did that mean?' Ignoring Lex's statement, Clark tried to convey the importance of the situation, "This is just something I have to do. Humanity in peril and all that. We... we're still in this together, right?"

"If that's what you want." Lex actually sounded defeated.

"What I want?! Would you like to know what I really want?" Clark unceremoniously threw Elizabeth over his shoulder, standing in Lex's personal space, he passionately began his list, "I want to wake up tomorrow and find that this past week was just some horrible nightmare. I want to be a normal human being whose worst secret is waking up from a wet dream and having to hide the dirty sheets from my mom. I want to go to college and get a job and maybe have a family and a clichd white picket fence around my wonderful house and be happy and perfect forever. I don't want to have to worry about the whole damn world or be its savior. I don't want to watch everyone I care about die and be left all alone. And I don't want to constantly hide who I am for fear of what may happen if I don't."

Clark needed to take a moment to breathe before he said in a hushed voice full of passion, "But I'm not stupid and I know that I'm probably not going to get any of those things. She showed me that and Cassandra did too. So, right now, what I realistically want is for us to be friends, because you mean a lot to me, and for you to help me figure out how to fix things because I don't know how much longer I can take it."

Slowly, Lex's eyes finally met his and it was disheartening for Clark to see such fear in them, "I don't want there to be a time when I hate you as much as I-"

Clark wanted his friend to say how much he loved him, but now wasn't the place nor the time for anymore sentimental jargon so Clark silenced Lex with his lips with an affectionate kiss before saying, "We'd better get out of here. Someone may have heard our rather loud disturbances and could have called the police. We're in the middle of a kidnapping here so I'd have to think the cops would frown on that quite a bit."

As the group of people silently made their way to the closest vehicle, Clark hoped for the best, and once again he had no idea what was going to happen next.

A lot can happen in two hours. A nation can be annexed. A new American Idol can be crowned king or queen. A man can stand in front of an advancing tank and make history. A woman can give birth to quintuplets. Clark, in contrast, didn't get quite as much accomplished. A ton of watching and waiting while Lex did all the important stuff made Clark feel like he was mostly in the way and unneeded. No longer outside, his white bland surroundings of yet another hospital visit made him bored beyond belief. At the very least he felt more relaxed now than he had all day. `Thank God.' There was a chance, however scary that may be, considering what he'd said and done so far today, that tomorrow could be Saturday.

Sitting mostly alone in one of the so called activity rooms, Clark flipped through a `Time' magazine while `Matlock' played in the background. `Old people never watched anything good on TV.' Lex was attending to business in another room; his wounded arm had needed re-bandaging as a couple of stitches had come out. It had been good to see his friend in a new set of clean clothes and baring a more positive attitude. Something about Elizabeth must have totally gotten to his friend, because Clark didn't see him get that openly upset that often.

Having overheard several of Lex's `personal' phone conversations, Clark learned that Lex was having Elizabeth, who had been highly sedated the last time he saw her, sent to a research facility called Cadmus Labs. That name sounded vaguely familiar. Also, it was located far away, somewhere in the mountains some fifty miles from Metropolis. By the time he saw, Lex's skeleton finally exit the room that his friend had been discussing essential matters with some officials, Clark was dying to find out more of Lex's little secrets.

"Everything's going swimmingly?" Clark grinned eager to question his friend further.

"Exceedingly so."

Seeing Lex holding a brand new cell phone, Clark remembered the first part of their clash with Elizabeth, and the noise Lex's other phone had made. Clark asked, "By the way, what the hell was wrong with your phone?"

"I had a personal safety devise implanted into it a while ago, it emits a high frequency pulse, supposedly to deter an attacker. A few too many kidnappings can make a person paranoid, and I thought it was a good time to use it."

"Having something for defense is great, but wasn't that a bit excessive? It was hurting you." Clark patted the very ugly seat next to him.

Sitting down, Lex replied, "I had it on maximum. I was hoping that would be enough to incapacitate her as well, plus I wanted my men to be able to hear it."

"Santa Claus most likely heard it." Clark looked at Lex disapprovingly.

Lex ignored his concerned stance, "Touch."

`That was one question answered, now on to number two.' "What's up with Cadmus labs?"

"About two years ago, after Hardwick Enterprises went bankrupt, I decided to take a rather inexpensive gamble and bought over fifty percent of their stocks. The company was worth almost nothing at the time and from past experiences I have learned that sometimes it is best to not look a gift horse in the mouth." Lex actually seemed excited to be telling him this next to him.

It was cool how cute Lex appeared with that tiny little smile on his lips and sparkle in his blue eyes. Almost dazed, Clark knew that he was now staring at Lex's mouth a little too intently. `Unsexy thoughts. Old guy watching Matlock. Gross hospital smell. Lights shining off of Lex's head... licking Lex's smooth head... no wait that's sexy.'

"Oh?"

"My proficiency in science not withstanding, I still like to dabble every once in a while and it's nice to have a little something on the side that my Father wouldn't know anything about. I'm sure he does now, but it still has its uses, like at the present time for instance. Lex relaxed while stretching his neck from side to side. "I trust that they'll be able to contain Elizabeth for the time being."

"So what do you plan on doing next?" It was great not having to think about that himself. Letting his friend take over was a dream come true.

"I've asked permission to use some of the facilities here and I contacted one of the best doctors in Metropolis, Dr. Kaplitt, who just arrived, to give Mr. Michel Hoffman a thorough physical examination."

"I guess it would be a good idea to find out what's wrong with him, but how are you going to get him to come over here? Another kidnapping perhaps?" Clark joked, more interested in gazing at Lex than in what he was actually saying.

"No. I think you enjoyed carrying Elizabeth to the car a little too much I dare say?" Lex gave him a smug expression. "Mr. Hoffman is coming over on his own free will. I explained as much to him over the phone that I felt was appropriate. The rest will be done in person, which should be in about five minutes. Care to join me for a leisurely stroll to the emergency room?"

"Sounds like fun."

As they made their way down one of the many long hallways on the second floor, Clark began to feel a bit uneasy about meeting Elizabeth's husband. "So was he pretty pissed off?"

"A bit at first. I caught him on his cell phone just as he was leaving his house. By three o'clock, when Elizabeth was over an hour late, he was quite worried and was going to go out looking for her. I told him that his wife had been involved in an incident and that she was currently being rather uncooperative. Also that she had made some strange claims about his life being in danger, so as a precaution we would like to ask him some questions and do a few rudimentary tests."

They were now walking down an open flight of stairs to the main floor and then to the emergency doors.

Clark wondered what kind of man could influence someone into literally stopping the world for them. "What were your first impressions of him?"

"By agreeing to come here, I'd have to say he seems to be a very reasonable man under the circumstances." Clark gave Lex a bit of a motion for him to continue. "He was nice, friendly and sincere. I did get a feeling that he was hiding something, but other than that nothing unusual."

`That's good news.' Clark held Lex's judgment of people in high regard since he was usually quite accurate. The bright neon emergency sign signaled them to stop. Standing tall next to his friend Clark waited for Lex's personal escort, which turned out to be a black Lincoln, with Michel Hoffman inside it to arrive.

As Elizabeth's husband stepped out of the vehicle, Clark finally got to scrutinize him from the inside out. The inside appeared healthy, other than knowing what broken bones and bullet holes looked like Clark wasn't a certified medical examiner so he had absolutely no idea what was wrong with him. The outside of him was rather attractive. `Attractive?' About six foot tall with a lean but a well toned frame, and somewhere between the ages of 25 to 30. From the looks of his hands, Michel had never done much manual labor in his life, being a so called `Rocket Scientist' he must use the computer a lot and do other nerdy things. He had short light blond hair and blue eyes and strangely his black jacket, blue shirt and black pants were similar to what Lex was currently wearing. `Did wealthy people often dress alike?'

"Hello Mr. Hoffman, I'm Lex Luthor and this is my associate Clark Kent."

The man appeared nervous as he shook Lex's hand and gave Clark a nod of acknowledgment. "Where is Elizabeth?"

"Mr. Hoffman, we believe that your wife is suffering from a severe case of dementia. Unfortunately, she became so hysterical and violent that she had to be given some medication to calm her down. I don't think it would be a good idea to see her quite yet."

Michel asserted himself with a bit more confidence, "How are you qualified to make an assumption like that? I'm certain you're not a doctor. Where is she?"

"Please try not to worry. I'm giving you my word that she is being treated by professionals with the utmost respect and care. I know how much she means to you." Lex was either being very genuine or highly deceptive. Since his friend may have already lied on several occasions to Michel so far, Clark couldn't quite figure out which one it was yet.

"You have one hour before I contact the authorities." Michel threatened as he continued to give Lex his full attention. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Does your wife have any special abilities that we should know about?" Lex's eyebrow rose a tad.

Michel sounded a bit defensive, "What do you mean?"

"Well, first, I've personally seen her appear out of nowhere. When she touched me her eyes actually glowed and she made me see some rather disturbing hallucinations. Does any of this sound familiar to you?" Lex shrewdly waited for Michel's response.

Clark frowned, once again curious about what Lex had seen, and he started to feel a bit awkward standing in such a public area.

"She's different. I know that. But she's not dangerous." Michel seemed convinced of that. As he continued to zealously defend his wife, Clark was surprised how much the man reminded him of Lex. They both shared the passion and drive to protect their loved ones. No matter what happened, their believes, about the ones they loved being unable to do no wrong, were almost impossible to sway.

Standing his ground, Michel finished with, "I know for a fact she'd never hurt anyone."

"And I know for a fact that she has." Uncharacteristically, Lex was starting to show traces of anger as he bristled a bit next to him.

Clark watched the clash of wills in front of him with trepidation. `This really needed to stop.' A passing elderly couple that must have been eavesdropping stared at the three of them with expressions of astonishment. Annoyed, Clark decided to take some initiative.

"She can control time in some way." Clark paused for a brief second before asking, "Where did she get her powers from and can they be turned off?"

Michel recoiled at Clark's sudden declaration, taking a step back he glared at Clark with dread.

`Gotcha!' Clark grinned at Lex who deflated slightly. His friend proceeded to mutely lead them quickly anyway from the growing number of watching eyes and into a private waiting area where a man in a doctor's garb stood sifting though a folder of papers with Michel Hoffman's name on them.

Lex stated, "Mr. Hoffman, I believe your wife has been making this day, Friday May 28, 2004, somehow repeat itself continually for over a chronological week. And she's doing it because something fatal happens to you sometime after midnight tonight."

"That's insane!"

"And yet it's true. You agreed to a physical examination and upon completion of it, if you get a clean bill of health, I'll send for Elizabeth to meet with us here. I'm sure we'll be able to negotiate some sort of compromise that everyone will be happy with. Then we can go back to pretending how great our so called normal lives are and blissfully forget this ever happened." Lex was a professional, and very threatening, but in a totally professional way.

Elizabeth's husband seemed to be deep in thought for a moment before looking at Lex and giving him a positive nod.

`Maybe Michel did know more than he was letting on about Elizabeth?' If he honestly didn't believe any of their `nonsense' Clark just didn't see why he would willingly choose to have anything done to him. Clark sneaked a peek at Dr. Kaplitt's chart for Michel Hoffman, and a full body scan, which Lex had told Clark, could be done within minutes and it screened for the presence of heart disease, certain cancers, as well as other abnormalities as well as some CT and MRI scans didn't sound like much fun. Ever since finding out about his extraterrestrial origins, getting poked and prodded had become one of Clark's top phobias and the thought of anyone having to endure being treated like a lab rat brought out his more sympathetic side.

Michel sighed, seeming to accept his fate he replied, "I hope that you are a decent enough person to treat Elizabeth well. We've been together since her parents died and I'm all she has left. I'll always love her for who she is no matter what." Gesturing towards the doctor he asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Clark felt tremendously uncomfortable after hearing Michel's confession of love and devotion. They had basically abducted this man's wife and were now holding her hostage against her will. They should be in jail right now and not be allowed to continue to harass this poor man who hadn't done a single thing wrong to either of them

Dr. Kaplitt, who appeared to just notice them standing there, frowned over a pair of stylish glasses, "I don't have all day, so if you'd follow me we can get started right away."

As the two men left the room Clark turned to Lex and said, "I'm gonna get a snack."

"Is there anything in particular that you'd like me to get?"

"No. Junk food is fine. I saw some stuff outside." Clark knew that he was giving off the `leave me alone' vibe and he vehemently hoped that his friend would pick up on it.

Sinking further into self loathing, Clark left the room to buy a soda and a chocolate bar from a nearby vending machine. Afterwards he sat down in the adjacent waiting area. Isn't that all he'd been doing for the past week? Desperately waiting for something to happen? Whenever he tried to actively do anything, the day still ended up terribly and then he'd have to repeat it again only to make a different mistake in another atypical situation. How much longer could he take this before going bonkers? He needed to have some time off really soon. If tomorrow was Saturday, great he'd go out and have some serious fun, if not then it was time to take advantage of this improbable opportunity and do whatever he wanted. Elizabeth could have her husband, and he could be purposely reckless and spontaneous for once.

Munching on an `Oh Henry' bar, he watched the 20 inch television with disinterest as an update of the earthquake in Asia was being re-broadcast. Clark was content to monitor Lex's actions and discussions on his cell phone from a distance. So far, Michel's full body scan had revealed his heart, lungs and other major arteries to be in perfect health, and at the moment he was in the middle of getting a MRI done. `Lucky him.'

Clark wasn't sure how long it had been when he unexpectedly heard Lex shouting at someone, "What do you mean she just disappeared?"

That sounded seriously bad.

Rushing over to his slightly panic sounding friend, Clark stumbled as the room began to spin and whirl around him. The dizziness that hit him was so strong that it bordered on being painful and the bright neon lights above him made his motion sickness worse. As Clark collapsed onto the tile floor, a nurse ran towards him and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay to you?" came out as a mumbled groan.

Making him feel violated by the unwanted presence, the strange women touched his shoulder and forehead, and damn did he hate the small crowd of people that had now enclosed around him. When she tried to pry open one of his eyes he lashed out, "Don't touch me! Get away from me."

Clark may have slapped her aside, but he wasn't sure due to the fact that he still hadn't opened his eyes.

When he finally did he regretted it immensely. Four or five people in uniforms and street clothes where all gawking at him, trying to ask him questions and circling around him, making him feel even more trapped in this twisted version of hell. The nurse who had first tried to help him was a fair distance away, he saw her glaring at him and holding onto one of her arms in discomfort. Shutting his eyes tightly closed again, Clark squirmed over onto his side to dry heave and having the displeasure of tasting a gross version of milk chocolate in the back of his throat. Never before had he wanted to hug a toilet this badly in his life, and he was so close to actually puking that it freaked him out to the max.

Calling out for the only person he trusted and wanted near him, Clark screamed, "Lex!"

Within moments, relief in the form of a tender voice and familiar tantalizing hands brought a feeling of peace to Clark's heart, which quickly enveloped the rest of his body, making him feel a lot better physically as well as emotionally. When the worst had finally past, Clark grabbed onto his friend for dear life and delicately tried to soak up the essence of the man he couldn't stop yearning for. Beginning to kiss the side of Lex's mouth, Clark opened his eyes and saw the clear look of devotion in his friend's face aimed purely at him. Using his unique eyesight, Clark grinned at Lex's special-ness after seeing how un-naturally healed his friend's arm now was. If it hadn't been for the crowd of people around them and the nagging feeling of wanting to know what had upset Lex so much, Clark would have started humping Lex right there on the floor.

"What's wrong?"

"I should be the one asking you that." Lex smirked as he casually ran his fingers through Clark hair.

Clark grinned at Lex's public gesture of affection. Yes, they were both very much in the public view, which once Clark had a couple more seconds to think about, wasn't such a great thing.

"At the moment, I'm starting to feel better." Still smiling and hugging onto Lex, Clark began to stand up, "Let's get off of the floor, I think we've done this a few too many times today."

Lex's expression turned thoughtful as he lightheartedly replied, "You're not wrong. We need to find out what's causing this."

Clark nodded in absolute agreement.

The nurse that Clark may have hit came forward and complained that he had just had a violent seizure and should be taken to the emergency room and put under observation.

"My friend just had a panic attack. It's happened before. I believe today may have been a bit too stressful for him and I'll be taking him home shortly."

"Do you want me to get some Xanax for him Mr. Luthor?" She still appeared mildly unhappy.

"No I have everything he needs." Lex held Clark's hand as they quickly left the area.

Thankfully, Clark observed that the group of onlookers began to disperse as they were left to wonder why Lex Luthor and some farm boy were acting so gay towards each other. "I heard you say something about `her disappearing' does that mean what I think it means?"

"I'm sorry to be a harbinger of bad news." Lex's grip tightened around his hand. "However, I've been informed that Elizabeth has some how escaped and is most likely hunting us down at this very moment and that Michel's condition is indeed rather bleak." His friend glanced at him while apathetically listing off some medical terminology, "He has a significantly large fusiform aneurysm deep within his cerebral cortex, which Dr. Kaplitt says is practically impossible to operate on it without killing him. Neither metal clips or microcoils would suffice." Noticing Clark's confused stare, Lex pulled out a small folder from his jacket pocket Lex waved it at Clark as he explained. "It seems Mr. Hoffman had a traumatic head injury over ten years ago riding a bicycle without a helmet causing an irreversible weakening of one of the major arteries in his brain."

Nervously, Clark let Lex guide him down the hallways and to the hospital's parking lot. Suppressing a smile, Clark couldn't get over the feeling of holding hands with Lex which was such a nice and novel experience, and something quite uncharacteristic of his friend. Grinning a bit, Clark was happy to recall never having seen Lex walking while hold hands with any of his past girlfriends or wives. Clark said, "Did Michel have any idea that he had it?"

"No, often there are absolutely no symptoms."

"That sucks."

Elizabeth Hoffman was on her way to most likely kill them, maybe maim them first then kill them, and all he could think about was how warm and tingly Lex's hand felt rubbing up against him. `Simply pathetic.'

Clark glanced at Lex with love. He didn't want to have to deal with this all over again tomorrow. No more death and ranting super-women bent on world domination. If he could just have one day off to relax and have nothing horrible go wrong, he'd be so happy. Maybe he could visit with Chloe and Pete a bit? The idea of a Lex not remembering this day or yesterday or the day before that almost made him want to sob at the unfairness that he, Clark Kent, could. It was beginning to become an emotional as well as mental torture to have to start fresh everyday. `Elizabeth is a big ass bitch!'

Taking a breath, in an attempt to spew out something helpful-ish, Clark was surprised to see Michel standing next to a silver Sunfire about a hundred yards away.

"What are you looking at?" Lex looked at him questioningly.

Before he could answer Lex, Clark stopped dumbstruck as his field of vision momentary turned into a fuzzy haze before everything halted altogether including all sound. The world around him was eerily similar to when he used his super-speed, except right now he wasn't. `What the hell?'

It became clear what was happening when Elizabeth appeared suddenly behind Michel and instantly everything went back to normal as she tried to give her husband a hug.

"Crap." Clark couldn't stop staring at his personal antagonist as Michel shrugged off her embrace and confronted Elizabeth by fervently disagreeing with her actions. Her clothes were a mess and the strange marks on her arms made Clark speculate on whether she had been forced into a straight jacket or not.

"How could you? You're not saving me... you're slowly killing yourself. Why would you think I'd ever want something like that?"

"I have to. What would you do if it was me?"

Michel appeared to contemplate what his own actions would be if their situations had been reversed, "I don't know. But I'd at least try to live the rest of my life to the fullest, because I know that's what you'd what me to do."

She sighed. "I've never been as strong as you."

"Elizabeth."

"I'm sorry." From this distance, Clark could still see as her eyes began to glow a bright blue.

"Clark, what's going on?" Lex's hand ran up the side of his arm before his friend must have seen what Clark was still staring at, "Fuck!"

`My sentiments exactly.'

On some sort of instinctual impulse, Clark seized Lex and passionately kissed him as the wheels of time were unnaturally turned backwards for the tenth time in a row.

Day Eleven

The sky was blue and peaceful. White fluffy clouds floated across the horizon and Clark was floating right along with them. He was no longer just Clark Kent, he was a super-man. No matter how powerful he now was, he loathed to come down from this place of solitude, for he knew what awaited him back on earth. Revenge. Hate. Misery. Not from him, but from an insane man that he used to call `friend.' It saddened him to no end on how much like his father Lex Luthor had become. Looking back after so many years he now felt like most of it had been his fault. In those first vital years, he just couldn't quite believe in or be there for Lex when he had needed Clark the most. Yes, he had ultimately created his own eternal enemy; a man who was now his true equal and together they would have one last collision of wills that would be the stuff of legends.

Clark woke up to an ominous feeling of impending doom. `Was that another nightmare or a fragment of some imminent event?' A world where he and Lex were arch-enemies felt so wrong. Out of the assortment of images that Elizabeth had made him see the day before, Lex trying to kill him was what his subconscious had chosen to dwell on the most.

Wiping his hands across his face, Clark tossed the covers off his upper body and got out from underneath his nice warm and safe bed. `What the hell am I gonna do today?' Turning off the alarm was such an automatic response now that he was out of his bedroom before realising that he had indeed stopped its annoying chirping.

`Still Friday? Check. Life still sucks? Check. Elizabeth still on the loose raising havoc on the world? Check. Still thinking about Lex? Double check.'

That freakishly powerful woman could do damn near anything. If she could see into the future like those visions had suggested then wouldn't she know what he'd try to do next? Okay, maybe, maybe not. Evidence showed that up until this point she was mostly trying to pretend that he didn't exist, after yesterday Clark doubted that would still hold true. He'd already tried almost everything to make her see reason, but she would never see reason if it meant her husband would end up dying.

He blew a chunk of his dishevelled hair from his face, distressed to realize that his only option of stopping Elizabeth might be to kill her. That thought disturbed him beyond reason. It was such an extreme ultimatum for Clark to come up with that he could barely comprehend the full implications of what it could do to him. It would change him. He'd never actually committed murder before, thought about it once or twice. To cross over that line would be such an ultimate sacrifice, for Clark knew he'd never be able to get over the guilt of doing something so immoral. But, he simply could no longer see any other alternatives. She was so much more powerful than him. With these unpredictable occurrences of sickness and weakness, he wasn't even sure how much longer he'd be able to fight back.

`No! Not today.' Trying to clear his mind of all things Elizabeth, Clark vowed that he was going to enjoy himself today by only surrounding himself with people he loved and by doing things that were fun.

Walking into the bathroom, Clark forced himself to smile as he mused about all the apparently random visions he had been forced to see yesterday. Everyone had moved on with their lives without him, Pete, Chloe, and Lana among others all except Lex who had almost seemed bent on destroying him. `Why?' It hurt Clark to think that the future could turn out that bleak for their friendship. Had Lex seen even more terrible things about their future together? Is that why Lex had been so afraid of one day hating him as much as he loved him? Clark loathed that he'd never be able to find out the answers to any of those questions. Lex wouldn't remember.

And now... Now, Clark wasn't sure if friendship was going to be enough from Lex right now. Kissing and groping sounded like much more fun at the moment.

He actually missed the sexual dreams that he'd had of him and Lex together before getting up in the mornings. Sure, he hadn't always known that was what they were and having a morning stiffy could be inconvenient but felt so much more normal than everything else going on in his life right now. And yesterday he'd even told Lana he loved Lex. `Did I love Lex? That's a million dollar question.'

Sighing into the bathroom mirror, Clark stared at his nearly naked body in confusion. `Is Lex gay?' His friend had appeared to enjoy kissing him and making out with him on quite a few occasions now and damn he had never thought of Lex being gay before. `Am I gay?' He'd never thought of himself like that before. Lex was the first guy he'd ever wanted to make out with before. And, Clark seemed to be the initiator of the last few lip locks since Lex practically attacked him at the Cabaret. Then again he'd kissed Lex the day before that was when he'd been angry with him while in Lex's obsession room. `This is so confusing.'

No, he would have known about that. Maybe, most likely, perhaps, possibly, in all probability. `Lots of P words there.' Where was that metaphorical closet that he was supposed to be stepping out of right now?

"Crap." Clark rolled his eyes at his reflection then proceeded to stick his tongue out at it while shaking is head from side to side, mocking himself.

Stripping his boxers off, Clark stepped into the shower unable to stop thinking about Lex and leaning over he quickly turned both of the knobs on. He felt the cool tub beneath his feet before the warm water first hit his chest to flow down the rest of his body to his toes. `That felt so much better.' Continuing to question his own sexuality, Clark wasn't surprised at the stiff erection that thumped into his right thigh whenever he moved too fast to the left. Heck, he'd watched it grow while staring at his own refection and thinking about making out with Lex a whole minute ago, so no surprise there.

Feeling adventurous, Clark spit into his hand and quickly turned so that the water was mostly hitting the left side of his back. `Who said morning showers had to be boring?' With a wide grin on his face, he closed his eyes and began to imagine Lex sprawled out on his expensive leather couch. Throwing his bald head back to expose his vulnerable silky skin, Clark could hear him say, "Oh Clark do me, do me right now." `Yes.' Clark began to pump his cock in a few hard strokes before reaching a steady rhythm.

Lex would lick his lips and moan his name some more as Clark pounced on top of him and proceeded to tear their clothes off super fast.

Moaning to himself, Clark felt the beginning rush and inner pull of the familiar coming release. `Yes. Yes.'

He would then suck one magnificent hickey onto Lex's neck to show the world who he belonged to and then... `Oh God, what would I do next?'

Groaning in frustration, he stopped before re-adjusting both his mind and his hand. Starting over, Clark pumped harder this time as he changed his fantasy to Lex being on the couch to being in the shower at the mansion by himself, washing his nearly hairless body and touching his pale muscular body while moaning Clark's name.

"Yes."

Lex would masturbate in the shower while imagining having sex with him. Just like how Clark was doing right now, but kinda the other way around. Closing his eyes to get a better visual, he braced his free hand against the wall for support. Lex would know how to do it right, no longer being some amateur virgin. He could practically see Lex thrusting himself in time with him under the spray of water. It was almost like they were having sex with each other.

Clark whimpered as this visualization turned him on to the breaking point, feeling the intense explosion of release he opened his eyes gasping Lex's name as his come hit the shower curtain in front of him.

`Score!' He'd remembered to hit the green plastic curtain. It was so much easier to wash the darn clumpy white stuff off of that than the tiled walls above the bathtub, where most of the time it seemed to stick like glue. Twisting the shower head so that the hardest spray hit it, Clark hummed happily to himself.

A moment later, he turned himself to face into the steaming jet stream to let the warm water wash down the front of his body. Clark smiled as it made his cock tingle from the extreme sensations after orgasm like it usually did. While having it vibrate up his body and into his brain, Clark began to think about his sexy friend again. `Tight sweet ass.' Okay, jacking off with Lex in mind had been an awfully pleasurable experience and maybe the `real thing' would be even better, but he wasn't going to go running off to tell his mom and dad today that he was gay. Maybe sometime in the future, since they would most likely be just as accepting as they had been of him being an alien. His dad had reacted way better the other day than he'd thought he would.

With that decision made, Clark finished washing himself with plenty of soap and shampoo. Turning off the tap and wrapping a towel around his waist after stepping out of the bathtub, he stared into the foggy mirror for a moment before wiping a hand cloth across it. His refection looked slightly distorted as he began to dry his hair with the same small towel.

`What am I going to do today?' His number one priority, stopping Elizabeth Hoffman, was temporarily bumped back a few spots to be replaced with other more desirable endeavours for today. Thinking of people that he'd like to do things with, he realized that it felt like forever since he'd seen or talked to Pete and Chloe. Maybe he could talk them into doing something sinfully wicked. Playing a prank on some unsuspecting jock could be very entertaining. Or, daring one of the school bully's into punching him in the gut as hard as they could, would be a great kick up for Clark's ego. Pete could surely think of some amazing masterpiece of a practical joke that the three of them could do together as a team. That would surely equal mega fun. And, by now he really needed to have some fun. Anything other than seeing Elizabeth again today would make this day ten-fold better than the day before, which had been one disaster after another.

Deep down, Clark knew that he would have to confront her at least one last time, and he genuinely feared what the outcome would be. Right now he just didn't want to think about it. He knew she could kill him easily; but, if that was going to happen, he wasn't going out without at least one fun day- where he did the things that he wanted to instead of always hanging back the way his parents thought he should. `Instead, today, I'm gonna be thinking happy gay thoughts, and doing some non-altruistic acts for once.'

Thinking about Lex was highly more beneficial than thinking about her anyway. Clark knew that he had to eventually see Lex today, because not seeing him was almost inconceivable. What he'd do when he saw his friend was still undecided, for there was always that crappy ice breaker he had to do at the beginning of everyday that made first seeing him just a little less fun. `Maybe I could buy Lex a present?' His friend would find an impulsive giving act like that from him to be quite intriguing.

Now dressed, with teeth brushed, Clark glanced into the mirror one last time. Deciding to glob a small amount of gel into the palm of his hand, he ran his fingers through his hair a couple of times before finally being satisfied with the less wind blown farm look.

Leaving the room, it was strange how nice something as simple as walking downstairs in his own home could make the day feel almost normal again, and by the time he reached the main floor he was almost bursting with pent up energy.

His mom cheerfully beamed at him from across the kitchen. "Why don't you look nice today."

Clark blushed. "Thanks." He didn't think he appeared special enough to be commented about but what the heck a compliment was a compliment.

Feeling extra helpful and witty this morning Clark asked, "Does Dad need help with anything? I'd like to make sure he doesn't accidentally break a leg mowing the lawn or by tripping over the garden hose. I can feed all the cows and pigs and scoop their poop before you're done with the pancakes. The hens seemed a bit feisty the last time I saw them, so I could go to the henhouse and gather some of the eggs if there are any, as well."

"You can do all the chores you want, just make sure to wash your hands before you sit down to eat at the table. You know how much I dislike a dirty tablecloth." His mom continued to grin at his kidding around.

"Sure."

Less than four minutes later, he generously washed his hands while peering into the bathroom mirror again. Before going back downstairs, he quickly re-did his hair, which had once again looked super wind blown. `Stupid hair.'

Savouring his food as much as he could under the circumstances, Clark watched his mom finish tidying up. At that moment, he fully understood what wonderful parents he really did have. They loved him so much, and without them, he didn't know how he could have turned out. In some alternative universe, he could have been bent on ruling puny planet earth by now. When he was younger his parents had never feared his unique gifts, instead they had encouraged him on how to control and use them. Sure, he made the farm work go by much easier than any regular kid could have but even now he felt no push to take over the farm when he got older like other guys he knew at school. Taking over the family business wasn't a given. It was only an option if he wanted to. And, he was starting to lean towards an absolute no more and more everyday.

"Oh, I almost forgot, your father needs some help with the tractor I believe he said it may have a flat tire." His mom said as she finally sat down to eat something herself.

"I'll go check it out as soon as I'm finished eating. Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you making such a great breakfast every morning?" He pointed his fork that had a dangly piece of pancake hanging off of it at her.

His mom appeared pleased if not slightly surprised at his compliment. "That is so sweet of you to say that." She then looked at him closely, "So, what do you want?"

"Hey!" Clark frowned a bit after remembering Lex saying that's all he ever did was want something all the time. "You know what? When I remember to say something nice, its not always that I want something. Well, maybe sometimes it is, but... I just want to make you feel proud that I'm your son and..." He paused wondering to himself as he said finished, "I hope that I can make you as happy as you've made me."

Her expression turned from amusement to mild concern, "You always do. Is something wrong?"

"No. Everything's fine. I just need to tell you stuff like that more often than I do."

"I know things have been kind of hectic around here lately." She stood and walked around to his side of the table. His mom gave him tender look as she continued, "You're growing into a wonderful young man, but you tend to worry a little too much. You can't always take on the world by yourself. If you ever need help, your dad and I will always be here for you."

`Always is a long time.' Clark thought sadly, particularly when `Fridays seemed to go on forever.' But, the thought of a day they might not be there made the whole repeating Fridays maybe just a little easier to take.

"I know." Clark stood up from his chair and fondly kissed his mom's cheek before hugging her. "I love you. Don't ever forget that. I'd better go check on dad before he tries to lift the tractor up by himself."

Behind him, his mom waved goodbye. "I hope you have a good day."

"I will." He called out before leaving through the back door.

Striding across the road towards his dad, Clark remembered the last meaningful conversation they'd had together and smirked at how nervous he'd been. His dad had been great. Clark hadn't been expecting him to jump for joy or go running for his shotgun, but the idea that his son may want Lex to reciprocate his feelings of homosexual lust hadn't quite upset him as much as Clark thought it might. And, his dad had actually made him feel a bit better about the whole idea.

"I see you're having some tractor problems." Clark lifted the one ton plus machinery above his head and looked underneath it. Of course, he knew exactly where the problem was and intended to rectify it immediately. While still holding up the entire tractor with one hand, he unscrewed the nuts and bolts that held the now flat tire in place and the offending object was off a millisecond later.

"Clark is there a reason you're showing off?" His dad appeared a tad disapproving of his antics.

"I thought I should practice my balancing skills more. You never know when they might come in handy."

Snorting his dad shook his head, "Yeah right."

Laughing, Clark sped off to get the spare. One heart felt chat with a parent filled his quota for the day, so he was quite content to make idle chit-chat about the nice weather with his dad after fixing the tire before leaving for school.

After taking a two minute stop in the barn, Clark grabbed an old binder and quickly used his super speed to cover several pages with a ton of information, which had been easily stored in his almost perfect memory, to be used later as a fun tool. `Chloe and Pete, here I come.'

While super-running on his way to school, Clark literally crashed and burned a definite mark into the side of the road after falling sideways into it. The impact was rather loud and abrasive for the both of them. After he slowly got up onto shaky legs, he frowned at the odd looking skid marks on the road. If his dad drove past here, Clark was sure he'd know it'd been him. Sure, his dad would worry, but tomorrow he wouldn't have to, so `whatever' about needless worrying.

Why had he been hit by a sudden, but much less intense than yesterday, episode of weakness, sickness and pure blah feeling was a question he would be demanding answers to tomorrow. Today, he planned to just grin and bare it as best he could. Thankfully, within a few more moments the now too familiar sensation was gone.

School. It was almost ironic that he chose to willingly go back to a place that he still remembered utterly destroying a few days ago. Weird was putting it a bit too mildly, and yet here he was.

Walking amongst his oblivious classmates of various social standings, Clark thought about what he should do and whom he should do it to. Trying to remember from a few days ago, Clark vaguely recalled that Chloe and Pete would be walking down either the hallway to the left of him or the one behind him.

A football player, wearing the Crows trade jacket, bumped into Clark while he was standing by some lockers.

"Get out of my way loser."

Passing on the notion to send the guy flying through the ceiling, Clark ignored him while attentively watching the apparent randomness and lack of order of the students around him. Strangely, Clark realized that for that dumb jock something new had occurred to him without him even knowing it, for the last week he would have walked across this very spot never having collided into Clark at all. Repeating the same exact motions and language day after day like a mindless automaton. In a way, Clark was thankful that he didn't have to suffer that fate, even though his own was only the lesser of two evils.

`The Chaos Theory' suddenly jumped into his mind as a remnant of something Lex had said to him a long time ago came back to him. `-thus an apparent lack of order exists in a system that nevertheless obeys particular laws or rules.' He could practically hear Lex's smooth voice talking in his head and grinning as he enjoyed the moment for what it was, a memory of silly geeky Lex talking about interesting intellectual mumbo-jumbo to him.

Clark still didn't know if the Chaos Theory made any sense to him and yet it somehow reminded him of both his current location and situation. School always seemed to be in constant chaos around him and yet no matter what absurd or horrible event that may have unfolded in its rooms and or hallways students continue to learn, pass, fail and finally leave on their way to adulthood. It was all normal, in one big chaotic way. And, Elizabeth was chaos personified who had accomplished the unthinkable by making the chaos theory an absolute truth. Every single day, the world was now a perfectly ordered chaos.

He felt someone nudging the side of his arm and turned to see a humorous looking Pete, "Hey Clark, are you still on this planet?"

Not quite understanding why Pete asked him that, Clark came out with a rather eloquent, "Huh?"

"You know, you appeared to be `a million miles away' sort of thing." Chloe standing next to Pete rolled her eyes at him.

Taking an extra second to revaluate the beginning of the conversion, Clark felt like smacking himself at his own stupidity.

Trying to compose himself, Clark grinned evilly at her before stating, "If you're gonna be like that, maybe I won't tell you my little secret."

Chloe visually perked up at that little tid-bit of information.

Pete's eyes opened with shock, and the quick once over Clark got from him was a bit annoying. Clark returned with his own look of, `Not that secret' to Pete before mockingly continuing, "I know something you don't know."

"What that you have regressed to the age of five? Nope, I already noticed that." Chloe didn't seem too impressed so far.

"You wish." With his full attention on Chloe, Clark pulled out the small old binder from his backpack. "In this binder, there are two folders one has word for word what our English teacher is going to say about `Hamlet' and the other has all the answers to our upcoming math exam in the class after that. At lunch, I will be willing to tell you now exactly how I came to acquire this information. But not a minute sooner, just to make you suffer with curiosity for a while as your punishment." He fluttered the binder above her head in a tantalizing manner.

Chloe made a vain attempt to grab for it as she growled out, "What the hell are you up to Kent?"

"If you're real good, I might tell you sooner."

Heading into English class, Clark sat down and kept the silly grin plastered on his face the entire time as Chloe kept giving him more and more desperate looks of inquiry.

"Miss Sullivan, will you stop doing that and pay attention. I believe some of the student's here actually want to learn something."

"Sorry."

One more now nasty look was all Clark would get before the class ended, and Chloe came running at him armed with her pen. "You are going to show me that book and tell me what's going on or I'm gonna have to beat it out of you!" She hissed.

"She will too, I have the marks to prove it." Pete encouraged Clark to show her the papers.

"Okay, since you bullied me into it, here it is." Handing over the binder to Chloe, Clark watched as she and Pete glued themselves together side by side reading it. His grinned at their collective oooo's and ahhhh's, it sounded like they were watching the fireworks on the four of July or something. So much amusement came out of so little actual effort.

Chloe started to blab out loud, almost making it sound like she was talking to a whole audience of people, instead of just her and Pete, "This stuff is amazing, you weren't kidding word for word. Strange, except for the comments he made towards me."

Quoting a whole paragraph out loud, Chloe did a very good impression of their English teacher:

"There are many similarities in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, and Trifles by Susan Glaspell, written in the early 20th century, that further support the timelessness of Shakespeare's works. Despite the fact that Shakespeare's Hamlet was written many centuries ago, his analyses of certain values in society are not only similar to those portrayed in the much more recent play, Trifles, but also to certain issues in modern society such as gender roles, family honor, suicide, and guilty conscience. One of Hamlet's tragic flaws is..."

Clark zoned out for a bit, as the still mesmerized Chloe continued to rattle on about the ingenious documents.

Pete, on the other hand, began to appear a bit bored, "Been there, done that, suffered the agony and will die having to listen to it all over again."

Chloe scoffed, "You're just jealous that Clark has somehow developed the ability to see into the future and you haven't."

Hearing Chloe's wrong assumption bought Clark back to reality, "No, that's not exactly what's happened."

"Are you going to tell us before making me suffer though another class?" Chloe put a hand on one of her hips looking a bit annoyed, while Pete just appeared extremely curious.

Well, there was no getting around a nosy Chloe. And, he knew that he'd have to do his un-fun rant sooner rather than later. Time for the big guns, which tended to be his doe eyes and pouting lips.

"I'm desperate and need your help." Clark hoped that they would be willing to go along with his insane idea, taking a deep breath he quickly told them both that he'd been repeating the last few days in an endless loop of horrible dullness mixed in with a ton of boredom. What his big white lie failed to cover was anything about Elizabeth and all homoerotic content involving Lex, of course. He didn't want any unnecessary questions about either of those two people, plus having them believe that the three of them had been close to cracking the case sounded way better to get his friend's to do what he wanted of them.

Finally, he was able to end his rant with, "I'm begging you guys I seriously need a break. I guess we can just go back to solving the mystery again tomorrow."

"What can we possibly do for you?" Pete appeared to be the more worried of the two.

`It's all or nothing.' Laying it on even thicker, Clark tried to appear as needy and vulnerable as he could without making it look too sad. "I would like to enjoy being with two of my best friends today and for us to have as much fun as possible for the next few hours. Because, God do I need it."

Chloe was the first to respond, "And what would you suggest in particular?"

Clark replied, "I'd like us to pull a couple of entertaining pranks on some unsuspecting but yet deserving individuals at school. The three of us could be like evil masterminds or something."

"Sounds like fun! I'm in." Going from worried to excited in the span of two seconds Pete, was eagerly planning something in his head already.

"Of course you would be Pete, I on the other hand like to report the news not make it." Clark saw Chloe's doubtful expression, if her trust in him turned out to be false she, he, and Pete would be the rest of the semester's news. All the jocks would get their revenge, and they could all be indefinitely suspended. Of course, it would depend on how good or bad what they did was. But at the very least they wouldn't become anymore not liked by Smallville High's population.

Pete moved over towards Chloe and hugged her while smiling sweetly, "Clark needs us. Sacrifices must be made. And hell, what are friends for?"

Score one for team Kent, now one more to go. Clark lay on his puppy dog eyes as sweetly as he could and aimed them at Chloe. `Heck, I'm practically a professional at pleading.' Observing as her steely demeanor started to melt, Clark knew he'd won.

Chloe sighed dramatically, "The things I do for the weaker sex."

"You guys are the best. I swear you won't regret it." `There is a God.' The first group that came to mind, who Clark would love to do a little bit of harmless terrorizing to, was the football team. They needed to come down a peg or two. They'd won almost every game this last season and the quarterback, Jack Swanson, was an egotistical dick.

"Yeah well, I'll make judgment on that later."

"I love my pessimistic girlfriend." Pete continued to hold her close before leaning over for a brief kiss.

For the first time, Clark didn't cringe after watching them have a quick peck on the lips right in front of him. Wow, it was so nice to have that burden of jealously finally lifted from his soul. `Go team.' He had the vague notion that his friend's intimacy no longer bothered him because of his own returned romantic feelings with Lex.

"How does the football team sound?" Before either could reply, Clark continued, "And before you answer think about it during Math which we'll be late to in about seven seconds. Chloe, you should finish the test pretty fast since you already saw all of the answers. Try to think of something good."

"Good? I'm the best. And newsflash, Clark, I knew all of the answers already because I studied."

Pete instead gave Clark a thumbs up.

On their way to Math class, Pete and Chloe started teasing each other on whose idea would be funnier. They even started making bets. Pete's went as high as one billion dollars and Chloe's included an exotic naked lap dance, of course the payments wouldn't be due till the following day so neither party was highly concerned about having to deal out any future payment to the other person.

They were free to leave once the test was over and halfway to the Torch, Pete was the first to blurt out, "Okay, I have the perfect idea."

Chloe took on a challenging stance while Clark waited in anticipation.

Pete enthusiastically continued, "After lunch the Crow's are having a practice. I heard a few weeks back that a couple of them were failing Biology class and if they didn't attend every single class, unless they were dead or dying, for the rest of the semester they will be flunked."

Clark almost laughed at seeing Pete's diabolical rubbing of hands.

"Well, my dad uses this funky dark powdered stuff in our fish pond outside. It's some kinda fish disease treatment that he uses in the water that makes it a bright purple. I'm sure it's safe. If it doesn't kill the fish then I'm sure it wouldn't hurt people. Anyway, he told me that if it gets on anything once it's wet it, would totally stain it. So, I was thinking we could pour a bunch of it into the hot water tank and when the football team goes to have a shower after practice they would all get dyed purple. And then, we would get to watch them sit in class and be humiliated in front of everyone." Pete grinned so wide that all Clark could see were his sparkling white teeth.

Clark nodded. `That sounds quite entertaining.' All he'd have to do was super-speed over to the Ross residence and grab a bag of the stuff and zip on back. With his powers, any prank would be practically effortless to accomplish. It'd be nice not to lie for a day, plus the whole prank thing would go much smoother if he could use all of his powers around both Chloe and Pete. `Maybe it'd be a good idea to tell Chloe about my powers just this once?' In contrast, the alien part was still a definite `no' story.

"Do you remember what the stuff's called?" Clark asked.

Pete appeared to think for a moment before answering, "Umm, something like Potassium pomegranate?"

"Yeah right, the fertility fruit? Mine's better. I heard a rumor that Jack Swanson's been wearing his girlfriend's underwear for the last week as some retarded superstitious drivel. Taking one for the team and all that. I bet he likes the feel of silk and lace." Chloe joined them in snickering at that little visual. "It'd be great to somehow pull his pants down in front of as many witnesses as possible and find out."

Sounding both horrified and impressed at the same time, Pete declared. "God, of course you'd think up something like that."

"I'll volunteer to do it."

Chloe snorted before sarcastically stating, "Sure you can Clark, so could I, but I'm positive Jack isn't going to just stand there and let you pull his pants off."

"He wouldn't even know I was there." Making sure no one else other than Chloe and Pete were watching, Clark disappeared into the nearby Torch, grabbed Chloe's laptop, and magically returned holding it out in front of him like a gift to the Gods or Goddess as the case may be.

"You... You just." Giving him a hard punch, Chloe flinched, "Ouch, my hand." Flexing her fingers, she continued, "So this is your big secret?"

Before Clark could answer, Chloe kept going, "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. There was no way that you could have been involved in like almost every wall of weird incident since I came to Smallville, unless you were ..." Chloe grinned at him cocking her head. "What? A magnet for meteor-mutants? What was your wish, Clark?"

Thrown by Chloe's grin, Clark stared at her in shock.

Speaking in a voice of reason, Pete stated, "Hey guys why don't we go somewhere a little more private?"

Shooting Pete a grateful glance, Clark almost stumbled in surprise as Chloe grabbed his elbow and dragged him toward the Torch's office. Clark could almost hear her jubilant announcement at the Torch's staff meeting: `Man, did she have a juicy scoop. An inside story from an admitted meteor mutant.' Of course, she'd try to give him anonymity, but he was equally sure that she would pump him for the story until she got it.

Once inside, Clark answered, "I've always been super fast and strong. I guess you could say that I'm one of those meteor mutants."

"Of course, you're a mutant." Chloe whispered as she shut the office door. Shaking her head in amusement, she ran through her list of proofs: "No self-respecting guy could have lashes that long, could wear that much flannel, or could blush that hard and still be normal. For God's sake, you live on a farm and help your dad castrate the bulls in the spring, but still blush if someone says `dick'." She teased, and laughed when he again flushed bright red.

Chloe smirked, "You're confirming a theory that I'd been working on for over the last year -when I started to notice one after another meteor mutant being stopped by someone- and the only someone not accounted for who could have done the stopping was you, Clark. There were other things too, like your recent wicked hearing and your million-mile away looks, but that whole flannel `thang' clinched it for me. Come on, who wears flannel that thick during the summer anyway?"

Clark shifted uneasily around the room. It was a good guilt-rant that wasn't going to be over for a while yet.

Taking a breath in, Clark was hit harder by what she said next, "But that shouldn't be a surprise, for someone who lies so badly... And, wow, are you a bad liar, so bad that between pathetic lies and even worse attempts at misdirection, I sometimes wondered why I put up with it, even with your please-don't-kick-the-puppy-dog eyes and blushes."

Although Chloe seemed to enjoy his discomfort with her teasing, Clark knew why she had probably continued to put up with it- for the same reason he knew Lex did: that maybe one day Clark would trust them enough to spill the beans, and maybe he'd fall in love with them. The second part Chloe had hopefully already given up on, now being with Pete, Lex thankfully seemed to be in for the long haul. `Lex loved angst.'

And, by the look on her face, she must have come to the conclusion that it looked like today was that day.

"Today...was the day..."

As Clark watched, the edges of her lips turned down as though she had a bitter taste in her mouth, and she seemed to review those thoughts in her head.

Chloe turned, staring furiously into his eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked... as Pete nervously looked on.

Puzzled by her hurt expression when she'd been grinning and teasing only moments before, Clark shot Pete a glance over the top of her head. Well, as long as he was going with the truth: "I just never wanted everyone to find out and call me a freak. The thought of you and everyone treating me differently scares the hell out of me."

"I'd never do that." Her hurt smile broadened reaching her eyes as she continued, "I know I've done things that have been suspect in the past but you could have trusted me. You could have told me on a day when you knew I'd remember it."

Clark replied bitterly, "Well, you also have to realize how many times my parents have drilled into me that I can't tell anyone, ever."

"Well, are you going to tell us all of it?" Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Chloe seemed to be watching Pete, who hadn't said very much since they'd gone into the Touch. "Well, what would it hurt, we're going to forget it anyway. Right Pete?"

Pete's response was a non-committal "Yeah."

After Clark explained all the pros and cons of being special, and showed her that there was a much longer list of cons, Chloe told Clark `not to worry about it.' Clark knew that she was still upset with him, but she seemed willing to continue with their plans of `Crow Domination.'

After a bit more light-hearted conversation, the three of them agreed that the plan was to try out both Chloe and Pete's ideas and then see who the winner was after a fair vote was written down on paper. Clark was sure he would be the tiebreaker, but it was all in the name of fun and he was also sure there wouldn't be any sore losers. They then split up. Clark would pick up the stuff for the water gag, Chloe would go wait by the football team's bleachers, and Pete would break into the unauthorized personal only hot water heater room.

Super-sneaking into the Ross' barn, Clark started to search in the general area where Pete had told him the purple `fertility' power was stored. Clark felt a bit guilty that he hadn't visited this property in quite some time. Pete's parents had recently gotten divorced and Clark guessed that Pete must have gone to Chloe for support whenever he was feeling miserable, since he hadn't said anything to Clark about being depressed. If it had been his parents Clark would have been horrified. After their minor falling-out over Pete's reckless street-racing, Clark had slightly distanced himself from the Ross residence, when Chloe began to become more and more romantically linked to Pete, Clark had practically given up going back there unless absolutely necessary. And, until today, an instance of necessity had not presented itself. Maybe he needed to do this for more than one reason: as much as he needed to have some fun, he needed to do something to re-connect with Pete, too. Lex may be his best friend- his sexy best friend, with the greatest blue eyes... and Clark couldn't help but wonder what Lex would look like purple. Wow, somehow that was a hot thought. But, he wasn't supposed to be thinking about Lex right now. He wasn't in Lex's shed looking for...

`There.' On a shelf over the utility sink, in a neatly-kept white container labeled `potassium permanganate' was a large quantity of his desired material. Grabbing a black garbage bag, Clark messily dumped the stuff into it and took off back to school before the dust could settle onto the wooden floor.

Pete was nervously waiting for him in the dimly lit warm room that housed the hot water tank. "It felt like you were gonna take forever." Clark opened his mouth to explain, but realized that telling Pete that he had been daydreaming about Lex's eyes and Lex turning purple wouldn't be a particularly good step toward repairing their friendship. A partially loud thump from the steel container made Pete twitch and jump to the side, "I swear it's haunted in here. Let's get this over with as fast as possible." Pointing Clark into the direction of a rusty looking knob Pete said, "I think that handle opens the top of it."

Turning it with a bit more added pressure than he would have liked, it wouldn't be a great idea to break the darn thing off, Clark was relieved when the top finally creaked open letting a huge amount of stream out, heating the room even more.

Clark lifted the bag and asked, "How much should I put in?"

"About a cup should do."

Grabbing a stool, Clark stood on it and slowly poured about of cup of the powder into the hot water while trying not to spill too much of it onto the floor. It was a very large water tank, though, and the water hardly seemed to change color. Looking back at Pete, Clark shrugged and said, "It doesn't seem to be working..."

"Try another cup, or more. Whenever it becomes a bright purple should be good." Pete offered.

Clark slowly added a second cup without change, then climbed down and let Pete check. Three cups later all the powder had finally melted, turning the water a dark purple. Pete coughed a bit from the fumes but otherwise didn't complain as he climbed down to let Clark check.

As Clark stood for a bit longer than needed, watching the water, he suddenly felt afraid. `What if we added too much? What could happen?' Clark didn't want to physically hurt anyone, but unfortunately he couldn't turn back time either, and what was done was done. Besides, Pete said his dad used it, and Mr. Ross was careful about not keeping anything lying around that Pete's younger siblings could be hurt by.

Clearing his mind of unpleasant thoughts, Clark was interrupted by a freaking out Pete, who was glancing around the room fretfully, "Clark, I can't stand it in here any longer, let's go!"

Jumping off the stool, they left as fast as possible, leaving no evidence behind, and hastily they joined Chloe a few minutes later outside.

While waiting for the crowd of onlookers to gather, Clark, Pete and Chloe eating their lunches a bit late, lunch hour had ended over ten minutes ago, watched the football players strut their stuff from the bleachers. Clark smiled enjoyed their normal discussions about politics, religion and movies.

Clark was just taking a large bite of a hamburger as Chloe declared, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about this retarded movie I saw with Pete last night."

"Humpff." Clark inhaled a piece of pickle into the wrong passageway.

She snorted, "A Foreign Affair. We got to see it in special limited release. Personally, I think they're trying to make the audience not realise that it was about this close to being a straight-to-video." Her thumb and forefinger were held about an inch apart. "It was almost like being forced to watch The Bachelor."

Coughing out the offending piece of sour cucumber, Clark proceeded to graphically re-tell the whole bad plot and lack-luster characterizations with a bit of mockery and disdain to Chloe.

"Hey I didn't know that you'd already seen it!"

"I haven't, you just kept telling me the whole thing over and over. And now even though I want to forget that the damn movie even existed, I can't-"

"Children play nice." Pete threw a french fry at Clark's head.

Ducking the offending fast food morsel, Clark cried out, "Waaa, I want my mommy!"

No longer annoyed Chloe stomped her foot, "Ssssh little boys the cheerleaders are getting ready to spell."

Clark faced forward and watched as a dozen girls and two guys lined up on the field in front of them.

"C." One girl threw up her hands in joy with a huge smile.

"R." Another one jumped high into the air while doing the splits.

"O." A rather well endowed girl did a cart-wheel bouncing all over.

"W." A different one kicked above her head showing off her underwear.

"S." Lastly the head girl was thrown up into the air, caught by her ankles and balanced on a guy's hands.

"The cheerleaders take their work very seriously, don't they?"

Clark rolled his eyes at Chloe's sarcastic comment. "Hey, Lana was a cheerleader, and she's a very hard worker, plus the two of you are like great friends now."

"I agree, and yet I do highly emphasize the was part."

Not caring to defend Lana or cheerleaders anymore, Clark debated on how much longer they should wait. There were a little less than fifty students currently watching the field, which wasn't a mass amount of people, but as the team got closer to the end of their practice the less people there would be. He could see as more people were now leaving than arriving.

"So do you want me to pull down their... skirts as well as the guys pants? For amusement sake, of course. Since you look so enthralled by the cheerleaders, and I'm sure Pete won't mind the view. And I don't want the audience to think that we pranksters are sexist." Not intending to carry out any female revealing stunts whatsoever, Clark only wanted to get one last annoyed rise out of Chloe. She really loved the women power thing.

Chloe took the bait. "Pervert."

"You're callingme a pervert?"

"Just get on with it already. I've been waiting with bated breath for so long now that my lips are turning blue." She had finished eating her more wholesome ham on rye sandwich and was currently leaning on Pete appearing to mimic deep boredom.

"Okay, so do you what me to start after a count down or something?"

Pete spoke in an announcer-like voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, in the next few moments, you will see a spectacle of epic apportions. A feat so rarely completed by but the bravest and most talented of souls. Please everyone silence, for our hero must concentrate on his coming task." Pete raised his finger to his lips and Chloe turned to stare intently on Clark. He grinned at his nutzoid friends.

Standing up Clark tensed his muscles and began to mentally psych himself up.

Pete and Chloe both began the countdown chant next to him. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2... 1, blast off!"

With his friends trying to watch his invisible super-fast movements, Clark almost flew down the steps and onto the field before reaching his first most prized target, Jack Swanson, who was just bending over in the middle of a group huddle. Gripping the spandex pants around the guy's waist, Clark quickly gave one jerk and the piece of clothing plus padding was no longer attached to Mr. Swanson body in any way. `Hot pink g-string nice.'

Moving even faster, Clark took down the offensive and defensive tackle players before throwing his large handful of clothes to the side, no more women's panties, a few were going to be feeling a bit breezy in their nether regions soon, Chloe would be sure to like that. Next came the wide receivers, center, running back, punter, and kicker Clark was proud that the kicker was also one of the superstitious only his underwear resembled something more out of a S&M porno movie all black leather and metal studs. That sight almost made Clark abruptly stop back into real time to laugh.

X-ray vision kicking in and out Clark mentally cataloged where the rest of the players where positioned on the field.

He knew that he was fast, but Clark was unable to actually halt time so as he was flinging more clothes to the side, he gave a fleeting look towards Jack Swanson who was starting to react in slow motion. The horror on the guy's face was priceless. `Faster.' Before the newest set of bright red pants could hit the ground he was back to shredding the rest of the dignity from the offensive linebackers and safety's. A couple more nudes and one more pair of white silk lace were exposed. Running out of time, Clark finished the rest of the team to reveal a scary pair of large granny panties before speeding back to the bleachers to join his gleeful friends. He'd almost broken a sweat.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Clark, you're my superhero." Chloe was intent on trying to suffocate him in a tight bear hug while still staring fascinated at the football field. "It appears the rumors are true, plus so much more than what I could have dreamed of." She wiped an actual tear from her eye.

"I did my very best." He smiled proudly.

Clark watched as the whole student body seemed to be appearing out of nowhere to shout, laugh and generally gawk in amazement at the now mostly fleeing Crows. A couple guys who still had their self-respect, due to the fact of having worn normal men's boxer-briefs today, appeared to be staring into the mob accusingly, maybe attempting the find the culprit?

"They'll never in a million years find out it was us." Clark celebrated some more.

Jack Swanson was the first guy to escape back to their respective locker-room, and the delight at seeing him that humiliated made Clark gleefully snicker with his friends.

Pete whooped it up, jumping up and down and pointing at the madly scrambling football team in front of them. "I could have done without some of those visuals. But hell, pink thong, black leather and dirty grannies totally make up for it. Those guys are sick. I'm sure glad I didn't stay a part of the team long enough to have been assimilated into becoming a transsexual."

Clark was strangely bothered by that comment, "Yeah Pete, and you're such a man's man."

"Damn straight." Pete punched his chest as his nonstop laugher became a bit annoying.

Super-hearing did have it's downsides as well. Using it to randomly listen to the players, Clark was unfortunate to overhear a few comments made about them such as, `faggots' and `fairies' by some faceless male students. Shutting out the rude voices, he turned to smile back at Chloe who had been saying something to him.

"-only imagine how hurt their egos must be."

Trying his hardest to ignore the little voice in his head taunting him about right and wrong, Clark re-joined his friends to finish congratulating each other.

It wasn't long before Clark was back to keenly observing what was going on with what was left of the team while exultation and an evil sort of joy was fading fast within him. It took a full ten minutes for the field to clear of the rest of the vengeful looking players, who were sent to the showers by their coach. `Showers?'

"Pete, the guys are going be showering any minute-"

"And what? You're pissed about missing out on all the male-flesh fun?" Chloe giggled.

"No! Remember the water?" Clark was beginning to feel guilty about picking on the same people twice in one day. "We're gonna be late to Biology, if you two don't stop laughing."

"Whoa, Clark what's the freak-out about? You do remember that this was all your idea?" Pete appeared generally confused.

"Yes, and I know exactly who to blame for it too." Clark stomped off wanting to get away from his accomplices. `Maybe I shouldn't go back to class?' The little voice in his head got louder, insisting that he go whether he liked it or not. Frustrated with the turn of events, he grudgingly complied.

Biology was Clark's prison sentence for the day. None of the football players had shown up to class and Clark worried about how badly they had been affected by everything. Chloe and Pete arrived to join him in the back row just in time to hear the announcement over the intercom that someone had vandalized the hot water tank, which had caused an assortment of eye irritations and first degree burns to not only the football team but the girl's volleyball team as well. First degree burns all over their exposed bodies. `Fuck!' From the whisperings, he heard it hadn't even made them purple. Someone next to him said that they almost appeared to be disease ridden with dark brown splotches all over. An added threat at the end of the message by the principle stated that once it was found out whom was responsible the person or persons involved would be suspended immediately and it would be discussed on whether or not expulsion was in order.

All this was entirely his fault. People had gotten hurt because he'd wanted to have fun and at the time he'd really not cared about whether it was harmless fun or not. He was a horrible person. A horrible, horrible person who was now lying on the floor heaving his guts out and sobbing as the Biology teacher stood spinning above him. He hated being weak and looking stupid in front of his classmates. Dragging his ass off the floor, Clark asked permission to go home saying that he may have drank some of the contaminated water by mistake as he swallowed back the nauseous feeling that was trying to overwhelm him again.

"Clark, do you want us to help you get home? I can drive you." Chloe ran out of the classroom with Pete on her heels behind him.

"No, I'll be fine in a couple minutes." Clark was surprisingly shaking with fatigue. "Look, I'm sorry guys for everything."

"Don't worry about it too much. You said that it's going to be Friday tomorrow again anyway? Hell, we all make mistakes." Pete appeared a little too chipper. Or was it because Clark's foul mood was making it seem that way?

"I thought you knew about this stuff." He frowned at Pete.

"I only watched my dad do it a couple of times but I never actually helped him with it. It's not something I'd usually ask about. Besides, remember what you said: the day will just repeat and everything will be good as new. "It was mostly fun, even though no one was supposed to get hurt. That's what sucks the most, and I was the one who came up with it." Pete patted Clark on the shoulder. "It looks like Chloe beat me pretty bad there. We should have just stuck to her idea."

Clark flinched away from Pete's seemingly uncaring attitude and shook his head suddenly wishing he hadn't said anything to them. "I can't believe- No, it was me, I was being selfish."

"Stop beating yourself up. From what you said, you would have gone nuts if you hadn't had some fun today." Chloe, looking way too serious, continued, "Do you want us to meet you later? At the Talon maybe? We could-"

"No. I'm fine." The idea of being alone again was sounding like a much better plan than hanging around with Pete and Chloe, who were now mostly grating on his nerves, for the rest of the day.

Saying his goodbyes, Clark left school on a much sourer note than he'd been hoping for that morning.

Unfortunately, other than the Torch, his Fortress of Solitude at home, and Lex's mansion, the only other place he intended to hang out at was the Talon, which left him with few options of where to go next.

The Torch was well torched and not wanting to go home or visit Lex yet he vaguely thought that having a chat with Lana at the Talon was the lesser of the quasi-evils. But, as he stood outside the front doors, he couldn't make himself cross over the threshold into more eternal talks that somehow ended up being all about her or before he was made to vocally confess his undying love for Lex again. Over the last week and a half, most of Lana's appeal had been lost to him. Especially after how bitchy she was to him the last time he'd seen her, and that had mostly been because she was jealous. Lana had been jealous about him and Lex making out? That was something to add to a long list of something's that Clark couldn't believe had happened to him on this mother of all Friday's.

Catching a glimpse of Lana heading towards his direction, Clark took off down the sidewalk at an inhuman pace. `Right on, now I've been reduced to running and hiding from her.' Then again, since the first day he'd met her he'd always been either running away, hiding from, holding out on, disappointing, and generally being a crappy friend unless her life was in absolute peril. He really should make a habit to stop doing that whenever, if ever, life went back to normal. Stopping himself from going any further, Clark look heavenwards praying for divine intervention or rain, either one would be great as something different right about now.

Glancing up and down both sides of Smallville's one main street, Clark saw a store that he didn't know existed and it was almost funny how the funky sparkling silver sign reading `A Touch of Nostalgia' above its main doors seemed to beckon him to enter its warm loving glow and spend lots of money. That place had to have something that Lex would like, if only in a really warped way.

Never being one of those girly guys who liked to shop, Clark had mostly ignored Chloe's comments a month ago about a new `cool' store opening up where the Greer's old antique store used to be. This was the perfect excuse not to have to go home and find out whether his parents had found out about his excursions into expulsion-hood. It was a nice surprise to change from feeling sorry for himself to having a renewed sense of vigor and to forge ahead with a new plan of gift giving by looking through an assortment of hippy and new age stuff. `Vintage clothing at its finest.'

Pete had said to him one time, `Lex would go ape-shit if you gave him bobble-headed Elvis and Marilyn Monroe figurines for his birthday.' Of course, he'd disagreed at the time; Lex would have found it highly amusing to say the least. Time for plan B had come: buy Lex a gift. For the sheer pleasure of it was enough of a reason to do so and any added benefits that would come after was just vanilla ice cream on top of Tiramisu cake.

Gliding through the store whose only cashier had pink and green hair, Clark marveled at the choice of lava lamps. There were simply too many colors and styles to choose from. `And are lava lamps even in right now?' Touching the heated glass Clark quickly nixed that idea even though Lex seemed to really like the color purple. Shivering at the reminder of purple water he walked down a different aisle filled with cartoon character memorabilia. The Simpsons, Scooby-Doo, Care Bears, and Betty Boop either grinned or seemed to smirk at him as he walked past them.

Sorting through a couple of decks of cards with vintage cars pictured on the front of them Clark pondered about what would be the most unique thing to get. He wanted it to be something that would make Lex instantly happy. Maybe happy enough to even give him a big hug and kiss... he doubted that the store sold wedding bands and last he'd checked Lex was still a man, so that idea was highly improbable. Happy. He wanted to see Lex smile at him with love in his eyes, because his gift was just so darn sweet and thoughtful and maybe Lex would even give him a big hug and kiss...

"Can I help you with anything?" The young girl appeared more interested in her black fingernails than him.

Clark politely replied, "I'm just looking."

Turning and striding away from him, Clark inattentively watched her goth-like body disappear into one of the back rooms. Relaxing, he was relieved to be alone again.

After a few minutes of browsing, he was downhearted that nothing had come even close to the feeling that it was the one. In a last ditch attempt, he sifted through a rack of mostly bland looking T-shirts, rolling his eyes at pictures of rock stars and comic book characters, maybe if one of them could have had a `Warrior Angel' on it he would have gotten it, but nope. Just his luck. A bunch did have either slightly offensive or warped funny sayings on them. The one that him almost laugh at how morbid it simply was said, `Don't piss me off, I'm running out of places to hide the bodies.' What was with all the doom and gloom anyway? One white on black slogan caught his eye and after reading it over and over, Clark began to really like the idea and the truth about him and Lex that was imbedded into it. Deciding that this would make if not perfect at least an interesting gift, Clark took it off its hanger and brought it to the front counter.

Buying some tinfoil looking wrapping paper as well, Clark asked the girl for a square box in which he rolled up the shirt and stuffed it inside. Using very little tape, she acted like the stuff was gold when he'd asked for some, Clark finished off the look of a flawless and normal appearing gift.

Grinning shamelessly, Clark began the long walk to the Luthor Mansion. He didn't actually walk the whole way, but was quite content to stroll along for the first twenty minutes or so thinking about what he would say and do after Lex read what was on the shirt.

After entering the mansion as sneakily as a cat-burglar, Clark couldn't help feeling super-excited. Of course, he still let Lex know in good time that he was there. Scaring his friend into dumping another mug-full of coffee would be a big no-no.

"What can I do for you today, Clark?"

"I got you a present." Clark held out the silver box smiling madly at his friend, who was on the other side of the room.

They were in Lex's main office room as usual, and unfortunately Lex was currently wearing the FBI wire taped to his chest. Clark felt a surge of anger at it ever having to be there at all. That immoral Lionel Luthor will rot in jail if Clark had any future say in it. Lex's skin should be free of that device and of any clothing altogether. The velvety looking black shirt made him appear too vulnerable and pale.

Mystified Lex came over quite close to him before reaching out to tentatively touch the box.

"What's the occasion?" His friend's blue eyes shone with interest.

"Happy Unbirthday!" Clark grinned even wider, which was quite an accomplishment. "Open it."

Feeling like he was going to burst with anticipation, Clark tossed it towards Lex a little too fast.

Grabbing the silver bullet-like projectile with both hands, Lex gracefully handled it while staring at the box like he was the one with x-ray vision.

"Come on. It's not gonna bite you, hard." Clark laughed at Lex's suspicious expression.

"Well I'm glad you told me that. I should go find my mesh glove." His friend actually started to walk away from him.

Clark opened his mouth to complain when he heard a rustling of paper and ripping of tape. Suddenly, he felt a rush of anxiety as Lex tugged at the tightly bunched material inside the too small box. `Oh God, this was a bad idea. Why did I think it was a good one when it's absolutely the worst thing ever?'

Still with his strong back facing him, Lex now had the T-shirt spread wide open in front of himself where Clark could see the edges of the large white letters showing just above and to the sides of Lex's still form. Clark heard the box carelessly drop to the floor followed by the silver paper as his friend sucked in a breath of air. The slogan read: `I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.'

"What the hell is the meaning of this?" Lex sounded absolutely livid in his typical passive aggressive way.

Clark nervously rattled off, "I wanted to do something nice for you and thought that you'd like a gift. So, I looked in the new store by the Talon and they had tons of stuff that was cool but not quite right for you. But then, I saw this shirt and I don't know for some strange reason it just seemed to fit just because..."

"Fit what? Are you trying to say that this represents something about you and me? You do know what it says, right? It's not like you grabbed the wrong one by mistake?" Lex turned around to show Clark the T-shirt holding it less than a foot away from his face. "To me this would seem to be about something of particular significance, please let me know if I'm wrong in my assumption."

Standing and staring at each other in a way that mimicked a western showdown, Clark lost the contest of wills and looked away first.

`What did it mean?' It had seemed kinda funny at the time and the saying had reminded Clark that practically since his first meeting with Lex, his friend had in a way been stalking him. Secretly investigating him, following him around, and showing up uninvited really could have been interpreted that way, especially since Lex had been an absolutely complete stranger in the very beginning and had then acted like they were suddenly best friends three days later. Clark had happily gone along with the whole notion of instant friendship. The word bizarre barely covered that whole concept.

Outright telling Lex that he thought his friend was stalking him would be an extremely unwise proposition. And answering soon before the silent fury, which was radiating off of Lex in waves, turned into a vicious outburst would be the best available option. Clark knew by now that truth and justice often meant the same thing to Lex.

Turning his head to look straight into Lex's gaze, Clark calmly spoke in an even and affectionate voice, "I've willingly given in."

"You've-" Still tightly holding onto the offensive T-Shirt, Lex stopped his sentence and stared at Clark like he'd gone insane. At least, he no longer looked like he wanted to chop Clark's head off. Narrowing his eyes with a touch of concern, Lex approached him with caution. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes." Starting to accept the idea that he had indeed given in to Lex's charms, Clark smiled a bit, "I'm feeling perfectly normal. Scouts honor."

"I heard that someone vandalized your school's water supply a few hours ago." Lex continued to look thoughtfully at him, absently playing with one of the black shirt's sleeves. "You didn't get near any of the contaminated water did you?"

Clark felt another stab of guilt, "Oh that, it was nothing. And no... I didn't." Knowing how perceptive Lex was, Clark had to find a way to avoid that uncomfortable subject. Plus, any excuse to get closer to Lex was a good one.

No longer able to hold himself back from making physical contact with his friend, Clark leaned over and gave Lex a slightly more than just friendly hug. Lex reacted slowly by lightly patting his back as Clark persistently held onto him. Groaning, he whispered into Lex's ear, "I can't believe how much I've missed this. God, you smell so good." Clark didn't want to ever let go as he began to open mouth the side of Lex's neck under his left ear.

Lex froze beneath his arms, "Let go of me."

Almost whining he said, "Why, have I done something wrong?" Inhaling a deep, smooth smell of his friend was becoming almost as addictive as wanting to touch him.

Sighing, Lex stated, "You do know that sometimes when you open your mouth the most tactless things tend to come out of it, and I despise it when you later pull your I'm so innocent act. In addition, your touching and breathing are getting a little too intimate for my tastes." Pushing Clark away, Lex absently rubbed his shoulder where Clark had been leaning his chin. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were on something."

"I am not!" Clark wanted to sulk at the insult. It wasn't his fault that red kryptonite drastically changed his personality. Keeping his mouth shut from saying anything else that might make Lex even more upset, he tried to think of something that would convey to Lex that his feelings were real.

Lex glanced down at what he was still holding. Grimacing, he threw the T-shirt a few feet away in disgust before tensely replying, "Look, I've had a long day and if you want something please let me know what it is, because I'm not in the mood for anymore surprises at the moment."

`That stung.' Not thinking too much about what did come out of his mouth next, Clark hoped to say something that would appease his friend, "I- I- want you." Clark desperately tried to expressively show how important that was for the both of them by once again making a tentative approach towards Lex. He knew that Lex loved him so why was his friend acting so obtuse?

Waiting a moment for Clark to say something else, Lex frowned, obviously quite aggravated and impatient, before asking, "You want me to do what?"

"Nothing, I just want- no I need you to be you." Clark hated how complicated this had to be. Brainwashing would be such a great power right about now. `Why is Lex being so negative?' Pointing at Lex's chest, Clark accusingly said, "I wish you weren't wearing that damn thing. I feel like I'm speaking to an audience of strangers."

"It's turned off." Backing away, Lex peered at him suspiciously, "You make it sound like you're either psychic or you can see through my clothes."

Thank God. In a way, the FBI wire had been bothering him. But it wasn't like it mattered that much to him in the long run away, because no-one in uniform would come knocking on his door tomorrow morning no matter what.

It was time again. Time to: `Lather, rinse and repeat'

"Surprise! You're wearing sexy tight black underwear with striped grey and blue socks." Clark went from staring at Lex's crotch to looking further down at his friend's expensive leather shoes.

Lex ignored his confirmation that he could indeed see through his clothes, "For the last time, what is this really all about?"

Clark finally got it. Lex couldn't believe, or didn't want to, that Clark was actually coming on to him in such an obvious manner. True, if this hadn't been freaky Friday Clark would have been here asking Lex to do something fun with him Saturday like originally planned and originally accomplished then he would most likely leave Lex alone and go home. Because that's all he'd ever really did with Lex was ask for things- want stuff. And, there would have been absolutely no touching or statements of devotion in any way. If he had done anything like that towards Lex, Clark would have thought that he'd gone nuts himself. How could he blame Lex for looking at him like he'd come from some bizarro world? Then again, it hurt seeing that look and Clark would do anything to be able to hold his friend's hand again and kiss him like they were more than just friends.

"Honestly, I thought I'd already told you." Picking up the abandoned black shirt, Clark spoke with sincerity, "I wanted to see you and I thought it would be fun to buy you a gift to make you happy. What I meant when I said that `I've willingly given in' is that I'm in love with you..."

As Lex stood before Clark stone still, his eyes widened in shock and Clark could see his friend's hands turn even paler as his fists clenched tighter together. Seemingly at a loss of what to say, Lex's jaw silently twitched with agitation.

"This isn't easy for me either you know, it's not like I do something this- this impulsive everyday. And, I'm sorry about that. Really, I'm just kinda bad at expressing myself sometimes, I guess." Going off on a rambling rant wasn't the greatest way to woo someone.

"You do realize that this is coming completely out of nowhere. I don't remember doing any romantic courting with you lately for you to suddenly come to this rather peculiar epiphany about us."

"Well, you're right there." Beginning to pace, Clark felt a cold sweat over take him. `This just wasn't going well at all.' What if he died tomorrow for good, and the last memory he had of Lex was being aloof and bitter towards him? "You don't remember doing anything. But this is Smallville wall of all that is weird and impossible." Clark was unable to hide a touch of resentment from his voice when he said, "And I'm fortunate enough to remember everything."

Lex appeared interested with his prolonged honesty, "Such as?"

"Well, we- I." Blushing as some of the vividly erotic memories surfaced, without thinking, Clark blurted out, "Ripping your shirt off and sucking on your nipple as you tried to shove your hand down my pants, after confessing your undying love for me, plus other stuff. I liked it lots."

Lex actually grinned, but it didn't reach his hard blue eyes, "Oh. I understand. Let me make an educated guess on what may have happened. An outrageous event occurred where the two of us somehow ended up-" Keen eyes stared at him while Lex searched for the right word, "-sharing all of our dirty little secrets with each other. Then after feeling relieved of having such great burdens lifted from our very souls we thought that it would be a brilliant idea to play around a bit, but not quite getting to third base." Walking towards Clark in a sensual manner with a look of pure lust Lex continued, "For you it would have been an enjoyable experiment and for me unadulterated bliss. And thus, somewhere in the aftermath of our fun little encounter deep hidden emotions were somehow evoked from within you towards me."

Clark once again was being over-powered by Lex's presence. It was like an aphrodisiac. Vibrating with sexual energy, his body was beginning to react accordingly, "Well... but it was a span of over a week, yeah kinda like that."

"I of course would have the misfortune to continuously forget everything, but you do not." The last few words were uttered so close to him that Clark could feel Lex's breath hit his neck in little puffs. "Now that you find me so irresistible you come here today baring gifts in the hopes to bed me."

Clark's eyes glazed over as Lex's lips caressed his in a soft kiss. Moaning as his friend got even closer, surrounding him as Lex moved his rich mouth towards his ear, Clark waited for Lex to say something even more clever and stimulating. It was true. Ever since this morning, Clark couldn't stop wanting to go further with Lex. He wanted to go past his first shower fantasy this morning and try something exciting and different. Maybe even lose his virginity. The fact that it would be with Lex was no longer a problem but a solution.

Feeling a dual pleasurable pressure on his earlobe as Lex bit down hard on the skin and at the same time a wild clawing streaked across his back, it took Clark a second to understand what Lex said next, "Sorry, but I'm not going to be your whore for the day. Get out."

Pulling back just enough to watch for Clark's reaction, Lex's smug expression barely masked his friend's underlining pain.

"Lex?"

Taking a step back and standing with his arms straight against his sides, Lex repeated louder in a cynical voice, "Get out!"

Completely devastated, Clark physically recoiled away from Lex who was glaring at him like he was beneath him, not even worth the dust on his shoes. He'd seen that look before, but it'd never been directed at him until now.

Not wanting to make a hasty retreat quite yet, Clark silently begged Lex to change his mind.

"Don't make me call security."

Lex became discolored and blurry as Clark's tear ducts began to produce too much liquid. "No, don't." Looking at the ceiling while blinking repetitively he was stricken and appalled at Lex's behaviour towards him. His hearing also became a bit distorted as Lex said something. It became lost in a haze of hurt and suffering. Staring above himself, Clark felt like heaving his guts out as the chandelier began to spin above his head. Closing his eyes only made it worse. `No, this isn't real. The room isn't moving- it's me!' Feeling his stomach tying up into further knots, it sent a pulse of agony up his chest, while Clark struggled to stay standing up right.

"Fuck. Leave me alone! Why does this keep happening to me?" Yelling at whatever unseen force was plaguing him for what felt like the dozenth time, he screamed out a second time, "Stop it!" It was almost like his distress had triggered another wave of vertigo. Letting go of the vile shirt, to have it fall abandoned on the floor, Clark stumbled out of the room like a drunk man, while feeling more sick and light-headed each passing second.

Blocking out Lex's voice, which called back to him, "Clark?!" he stumbled down the hallway, groaning that `Yes, he'd wanted something from Lex. He wanted to feel loved and not alone. These past few days, Lex had been the only thing keeping him sane and now that was gone too.'

Clark swore that he would curl up and die of humiliation if he passed out here. Lex wanted him out and he'd be gone from his sight like his friend wanted even if Clark had to heave his dead-feeling body out the door. As he moved in a dreamlike slow motion, Clark vaguely heard his own voice promising Lex that he'd never have to see him again if he didn't want to... no matter how many times the day repeated, no matter how insane it got.

God, he just couldn't seem to be able to get out of the mansion, it's like his body didn't want to. `Super-speed. Come on leg's work. Super my ass.' Running no faster than a normal person, Clark barely made it off of the Luthor's property before collapsing onto his knees and emptying the full contents of his stomach.

Yes, it was possible for breakfast to look even more unappetizing.

Smelling the stink of vomit on himself, Clark quickly pulled his thick sweater off and threw it into the ditch next to him. Wanting to cry for his mom to come and make him feel all better, Clark gritted his teeth to stop from bawling out loud. `Stop being a baby and grow up!' Home. He had to get home. After that little pathetic display, he wondered whether Lex would come to investigate what his problem was. And, he so hated Lex right now with a fiery passion born of a thousand suns. That weird quote was perfect: Lex should burn all the way to hell for making him feel this way.

Still feeling incredibly depressed and ill, once his stomach had ceased heaving, he was finally able to properly upright himself and kick into some thing close to super-speed. Absently watching as the field's and pavement around him streamed together to form one seemingly vast pathway to nowhere, he felt like he could run circles around the earth and still be stuck in Smallville.

`Home is where the heart it.' Oh the joy, he'd arrived back just in time for supper. The aroma of steak, mashed potatoes and veggies assaulted his nostrils as he entered in through the front door.

"Where have you been?" His dad sternly looked at him from across the dinning room table.

"Running."

His mom exclaimed, "You look terrible. Chloe and Pete phoned and said that you were sick. Are you okay?" She touched the sides of his face and forehead.

"It's nothing. I think someone at school was wearing kryptonite." So what if he was lying? Clark didn't want to talk or eat or move anytime in the immediate future. "I'm not hungry. If you need me, I'll be upstairs."

Thankfully, his parents didn't bother him much more after that.

The first thing he did after going upstairs was brush his teeth and use a ton of mouthwash to get rid of the disgusting taste in his mouth. He'd never actually puked before in his life, and he wasn't overly ecstatic over the new experience. Staring at his weary expression in the mirror, Clark watched as silent tears rolled down his cheeks and into the sink. He had to get his mind off of Lex; that prick had torn him apart on the inside on purpose, and Clark still didn't understand why.

Clark continued to stare at the mirror so intensely that, for the first time in almost two years, he lost control of his heat vision and didn't notice until the first two black holes appeared on his reflection's face and then a snap as a spider web of cracks and melting glass ruined the rest of the mirror.

His parents wouldn't be too impressed the next time they went to take a pee.

Leaving the room after a quick refreshing shower, he shook his wet hair dry knowing that he still had to somehow clear his brain. Trying to read didn't help. Watching TV was boring. Talking on the phone wasn't an option. Doing chores was nicely mind numbing, but didn't occupy him for a long enough time. Making his way into the barn and up into the loft, Clark spent some time stargazing with his telescope. The sky was so beautiful and serene above his house. In Metropolis, it always looked muted almost a pale shadow compared to what he was used to. Somewhere among those billions of stars was where he had been born. `Why did my planet have to blow up or implode or whatever it did?'

After yet another crappy episode of sickness and vertigo, Clark screamed his frustrations into the cool dark night. Feeling exhausted, he went back inside his personal fortress and lay down on his couch to relax, soon falling into a light sleep.

He awoke to the sound of faint footsteps hitting the dirt in the barn somewhere beneath him. Feeling a tad disoriented, Clark wondered how long he'd been out as he stood to look outside. Through the darkness, he could plainly see Lex's Mercedes parked right in front of the house door almost right on top of the front steps.

The footsteps were now gracefully hitting the bottom wooden stairs leading up to the loft. Internally shivering, Clark steeled himself for another confrontation. Ever since leaving the mansion, Clark had off and on been both hoping for and loathing the idea of Lex following him back here. Still mad and hurt, Clark wasn't sure what he was going to say or do. Starting off with totally ignoring the person now behind him and making Lex talk first was exactly what he was doing right now. And, that wasn't going to solve anything either.

"I was wrong. I shouldn't have said what I did. I let my temper get the better of me and I lashed out in a way that I thought would cause you the most damage and misery that I could." Lex paused, sounding remorseful as he implored, "Please, forgive me."

Clark let a deep breath of air hiss out through clenched teeth before reluctantly turning away from the open window to glare at his antagonist. Lex had changed into more formal clothes, a dark grey suit and dark blue shirt, from his earlier all black motif. He looked like crap. The uncommon dark areas under his light eyes made Lex appear almost feral, while at the same time his deathly pale coloring made him look unwell.

"You scared me. The amount of darkness you hide within you scares me a whole lot. God, what you said... I thought that I was your friend. Get out." Throwing Lex's own words back at him, Clark wanted to scream and yell and lash out in a violent way. He wanted to hurt Lex back as deeply as he had been hurt even if that want lasted for less than a second. `Calm down. Lex didn't come to fight and I don't want to make a mistake and physically hurt him.' Looking intently at Lex, he could see that he was fully prepared for Clark's resentful reaction. But, how could they make this all better?

"Is there anything I can help you-"

Clark sharply cut him off, "No. I've gotten all the help I need from you already."

Debating on whether to make Lex leave or not, Clark took a few steps forwards and then sideways, internally conflicted as he wanted to both get closer to and farther away from Lex at the same time.

"You scared me, too." Lex appeared worried and -strangely enough- a bit lost.

Okay, that was unexpected. Clark couldn't remember what he'd said before getting out of the Luthor mansion. He had started to lose it pretty badly, but whatever he said must have made a bigger impact than he'd originally thought.

Clark couldn't look at Lex any longer, staring down at the floor his anger washed away to be replaced by self-loathing and a deep sadness. "I'm sorry. Everything I do is wrong."

"Clark, no. We all make mistakes." Lex edged closer. "You are the best person I know. What happened was just too much to take- in such a short period of time."

Needing to hear those three little words with desperation border-lining on obsession, Clark replied, "Say it. If you aren't going to say it, then I want you to leave right now."

Glancing up, Clark tried to wait patiently for the silent figure in front of him to say something. But, watching Lex like a hawk, Clark realized his friend was almost distraught as he tried to find an answer for Clark. `Please say it.' Seconds ticked by until Clark's nerves and uncertainties got the better of him: "Is it that hard? Am I that hard to...?" He trailed off unable to say it. Perhaps, it was common for orphans- but, deep down, Clark occasionally worried that somehow he was too difficult to love. `Please. Please.' He silently begged.

Finally meeting Clark's gaze, Lex replied, "Clark, you mean the world to me I'm yours, body and soul almost since the day I met you. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone before in my life, and I think I always will."

Now that was how you wooed someone.

Blissfully happy, Clark hastily rushed over to Lex and hugged him. Tasting salty wetness on the side of his friend's face, and not knowing if it was Lex or himself or both of them that were crying, Clark desperately lavished his returned affections for Lex in the form of a rather messy kiss. All feelings of avoidance and desperation vanished as Lex's tongue took control of the kiss delving in and discovering the recesses of Clark's lips until he was breathless. As they kissed, Clark felt Lex's hands roving over him, exploring his back, sides, hips. When Lex's hands moved to his abdomen, Clark gently tackled Lex onto the sofa. Grinding into him, Clark pulled gently at his expensive clothes, not actually getting any of them off. Deciding on a new approach, he crawled down Lex's body and dipped his fingers into the waist of Lex's pants to push up the tucked-in blue shirt. Lex arched beneath his fingers, but it was Clark, who gasped when he saw a black T-shirt with white lettering underneath it.

"I still can't believe this is real." Lex moaned above him.

Whispering faintly to himself, Clark said, "You really do care." `How freakishly sweet was that?' Lex had worn his present not knowing whether he would be rejected by Clark. It must have really meant something to Lex even if it had been the reason why he'd gotten so upset in the first place.

"What did you say? Clark?" A hand ran through the hair on the top of Clark's head. `Oooo that was nice.'

"You are a sentimental genius." Smiling, Clark went back to claiming Lex's mouth as his private property. Noticing a small trace of bitterness mixed in with his friend's unique flavoring, Clark pulled back to gaze into dilated pupils. Lex looked so freaking hot.

"You've been drinking."

Light-heartedly Lex tried to defend himself, "You've driven me to drink on quite a few occasions."

"Funny. Well, I'm not letting you drive home." Clark determinately stated while placing feather light kisses down the side of Lex's neck. Sometimes, he really hated how often Lex drank.

"We can't have that." Lex growled as he thrust his groin into Clark's. Trying to struggle against the heavy weight on top of him, Lex was able to wrap both of his legs around Clark's mid-section and twist them onto their sides.

Clark laughed at Lex's small victory and stuck his tongue out at him, for he still plainly had the advantage. But, before he could pull it back in, Lex captured to his tongue with his moist lips and started sucking on it. Closely trying to watch Lex bob his head back and forth, only made Clark cross-eyed while giving him a too close fuzzy view of Lex. Closing his eyes, Clark wrapped his arms around Lex and began to rub up against him with the enthusiasm of a lost puppy finding his master. `Pure joy.' Everything felt just so good. One of Clark's hands traveled up while the other one went down. Continuing to french kiss Lex, Clark cupped the back of his smooth skull to press their faces even closer together. Loving the feel of Lex's satin-like skin, Clark got a little too overzealous and his teeth hit Lex's with a hard clank. They quickly parted.

Before he could say `sorry,' Lex was tonguing the inside of his ear and breathing so heavily that Clark started to get a little too close to coming in his pants. `No, not yet' Snarling for some self control, Clark clenched Lex's ass harder, gasping as Lex's hard erection slammed into the side of his upper thigh. `Yes. More, more, more.'

Engrossed in the wonderful feeling of friction and its great side effects, Clark wasn't prepared for what Lex did next, as his friend suddenly started shoving his whole weight against Clark's large frame, causing them to roll off the couch and into the floor. In a real fight for physical dominance, Lex would sorely lose, but Clark didn't mind letting him take control in an area where he was clearly at the disadvantage of being the novice in this relationship, sexual wise. He planned on being a quick learner.

Now on top, Lex straddled the sides of Clark's hips, grinning mischievously, "So, are you going to take me home?"

"If you want me to. But, I like it right here just fine."

"Would you like it just as much if your parents came walking in?" Lex brazenly put his hand on Clark's thigh and rubbed back and forth over his own personal speed-bump.

Almost purring, Clark tried not to picture his mom or dad's faces in his head, "Probably not."

Lex's face had become flushed with color. Too sexy. Most likely, he was becoming too hot from wearing three separate layers of clothes. Lex still on top of him, took his suit jacket off and laid it on the floor next to them. "How much time do we have?"

Completely absorbed with everything Lex was doing, Clark let himself relax against the cool wooden boards under his back. `Time? What the hell was Lex talking about?' Clark wanted Lex naked really damn soon. "Huh?"

Wearing an intensely somber expression, Lex caressed the side of Clark's face before he dropped his hands to both sides of Clark's face, and leaned into Clark with an almost predatory grin. "I have the impression that I'm not going to remember this later, so I plan to savour every precious moment I can get while I can."

`Oh yeah. But, I wanted to forget about that part.' Thinking for a second, Clark knew that it was sometime after dark, "At least four hours."

Lex wistfully said, "That will have to do."

Clark groaned as Lex stroked one hand back up his cheek, trailed his thumb over Clark's lips, then slid his thumb into his mouth. Biting lightly on it, Clark couldn't believe how erotic the action was as Lex began to rhythmically pull his thumb out and then push it back in past Clark's lips over and over. It was like Lex was fucking his mouth and was enjoying watching himself doing it. `Yeah, harder, faster.' The glazed look in Lex's eyes got even more intense. Snarling, Lex jerked his hand back and replaced it with his mouth, before forcing himself back and off of Clark.

Clark hoped it was a `time for more clothes off' kinda parting.

"So, are we going to take your lovely truck or-" Pulling out a set of keys from his pocket next to a very obvious bulge in his pants, Lex smirked, "Do you want to drive the Mercedes?"

"I can't wait that long." In a flash of plaid, Clark snatched Lex off the floor and had them out of the barn and standing next to Lex's car a fraction of a second later. Quickly putting him back down on the ground, Clark grinned hoping Lex wouldn't get offended at his impulsiveness. Plus, hey revealing super-powers, and he knew how hot that made Lex.

"And then there is that." Lex stared at Clark in awe.

"Do you mind?" Holding Lex in his arms after their heavy petting had been tantalizing, but he didn't want to screw things up now by insulting his friend or making him feel helpless. They were still sort of emotionally treading on thin ice.

"No, I'll take everything you're willing to give." Lex said in a tone that promised he would make sure that Clark enjoyed every minute of the taking. With a teasing smile, Lex wrapped his arms around Clark's neck with a look of lust that said Lex wanted him so bad that he didn't care about the consequences, and he want Clark to see that he cared. `Less thinking, more action.'

Stealing another kiss, Clark hugged him close, while speaking softly, "I'm going to make you feel like you're flying, without the near death experience."

"Promises, promises." Lex smirked.

Clark could run to the Luthor mansion with his eyes closed, he'd been there so many times. Zooming down Hickory Lane like a ballistic missile Clark was determined to give Lex the best ride of his life. Too bad it didn't last very long, but then again that had been the whole point in the first place. Careful to avoid whiplash as he stopped, Clark smoothly lowered Lex to the ground by the front entrance.

Lex's face lit up with pure bliss, making Clark blush and want to giggle like a school-girl

"You're amazing." Lex's lidded eye's blatantly checked Clark out from head to toe.

"Just like Spider-man. But without the webbing and the sticking-"

Lex practically attacked him against the door, biting and sucking on his pouting lips before he finished the sentence. `No more talking, got it.'

They were quite suddenly inside and striding backwards towards the stairs and Clark couldn't quite recall if he'd opened the front door or had just smashed right through it. Stumbling through the darkness, Clark blindly followed Lex as they continued to fervently kiss and grope each other.

The fact that they were finally going to have sex made Clark even more frantic just in case something else was going to pop up and tear them apart. God, if he saw Lionel, Elizabeth or heaven forbid his dad appear out of thin air, Clark wouldn't be too surprised. But, he'd be damned if he let that stop him. This was too good to stop for anything. The world could end for all he cared right now.

Unbuttoning his thick plaid blue and white shirt, Lex shoved his hands underneath the clothing to feel Clark's chest. `More.' Moaning, Clark shrugged his shoulders and let the fabric slide down his arms. Skilled fingertips massaged around Clark's nipples, sending spikes of pleasure straight down to his cock. They then changed course to knead down his abs. `Yes. Lower.' Giving a few quick nips and licks along the way, Lex continued to move lower, like the great mind-reader he was.

Not caring about Lex's shirt, Clark ripped all the buttons off. Halting himself from destroying the next piece of clothing keeping him separated from Lex's skin, Clark couldn't help but give a silly little grin after reading the slightly obscured motto, `I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.'

`Perfect. Heck, maybe we're both stalkers? If it turned out like this, it couldn't be all that bad.' It really had been the perfect gift.

Lex returned his smile before falling down to his knees in front of him to lick at Clark's belly, sliding his talented tongue across the sensitive region by his groin that Clark didn't even know he had. `I want. I want.' It felt like he was being electrocuted, but in a good way. Hearing his belt-buckle jingle at the same time he felt Lex tug at his fly, Clark tried to push the nagging feeling of uneasiness and fear to the side and let what was going to happen next, just happen.

Rapidly, his pants were efficiently pulled down his hips while Lex's fingers grabbed on to the band of his underwear. Almost giddy, Clark shivered in anticipation. It was kinda obvious that Lex was going to give him a blow job. `Cool.' Blow job by Lex. Being blown off by Lex who was still technically wearing all of his clothes. `So not fair.'

Mind racing, Clark gasped and looked down as a cool grip enclosed the base of his cock `Oh my God!'

Instinct made him thrust forward where he unfortunately hit Lex on the chin with his smooth head, leaving a wet spot near Lex's lips. It would have been comical if Clark hadn't been so damn horny.

"Relax." Lex's smothering stare didn't help him to relax in the slightest.

"I- Oh..." With his eyes rolling backwards into his head, Clark blindly tried to grab onto something as his dick was swallowed whole. He could actually feel the muscles in Lex's throat tighten around him before the sucking began. `And wow was Lex great at sucking.' Leaning his head against a wall, Clark couldn't be bothered by the fact that he had no idea where they were in Lex's enormous home and who might be walking around a nearby corner. Lex had way too many manservants. As the pressure inside him mounted, Clark became more and more desperate to seize hold of an object and demolish it with his hands. Lex's beautiful head was so not an option.

Opening his eyes, to watch Lex continue to pump him with his mouth, was Clark's undoing. Screaming wordlessly, he finally found a smooth softball sized object and turned it into dust as he poured his come down Lex's throat. `Wow, that'd been simply, wow.'

After a moment, Lex pulled back licking his lips. Standing up he gestured at Clark's right hand, "Poor Dionysus, I guess he wasn't as immortal as we first thought."

"Huh?" Lex's beautiful mouth said the strangest things.

Clark turned at stare at the marble bust, which was now missing its head. A few large chunks had managed to slip past his fingers, but the rest that was clenched in his fist was now a grainy worthless dust. `Ooops, that wouldn't have been cheap. Poor Dionysus, I didn't know you very well.'

Touching his arm's taunt flexed muscles, Lex purred, "What else can you do?"

"Lots of stuff." Clark wiped his hand onto his pants before finally being able to rid Lex of his ruined blue shirt. As he stepped out of his pants, and almost tripped on his underwear, Clark flung the shirt down the hallway and moved closer to Lex in the hopes of further thrills. He didn't want to do another confession. Having to repeat himself again to Lex would make this seem less real, because it would only remind Clark that Lex wasn't going to remember this tomorrow but he was.

Wrapping his mostly naked body around Lex's clothed one, he complained, "You're still wearing too much." Looking super-pouty was one of Lex's weakness' and he didn't mind exploiting it to get his way.

Still looking at Clark with curiosity, Lex seemed to give in as he said, "Great minds think alike." Lifting his head and arms, Lex motioned for Clark to help strip off his present.

Clark was quite happy to oblige him. Wrinkling his nose after inhaling the smell of the freshly store bought shirt, the mild displeasure was immediately forgotten as the more arousing smell of Lex's skin made Clark drop the shirt and started purposely sniffing at Lex's neck. Licking Lex's collarbone, Clark was ready, willing, and almost capable for some more rigorous physical activities. It wouldn't be much longer before he'd be once again fully erect. Too bad he'd come so fast the first time, but it had been so damn good.

As a strong breeze brushed past Clark's bare ass, from a nearby open window, he decided that is was time for a different location. Random hallways weren't that comfortable or had a private enough feeling. `Voyeurism can come later.'

While yanking at Lex's Armani pants, Clark began to lead them towards Lex's bedroom. Somewhere in their mad dash of lust, they'd made it upstairs and halfway down the corridor before stopping and well, Lex had given him a blowjob. `Should I return the favour?' The idea was a good one, but once again, he was afraid of biting him or something just as horrible. `Maybe later, like when I no longer smash things during sex.'

Clark had never actually been in Lex's bedroom before. Sure, he'd seen into it on several occasions like a peeping Tom, but had never had the pleasure to see the inside of it in a full spectrum of colors. When he used his x-ray vision, everything tended to appear in only black and white.

Now inside the darker room, Clark squinted to make out Lex's features. `This just wouldn't do.' Clark had to see all of Lex. Clark flicked the main light switch, and they both became bathed in a natural warm glow. Giving the rest of the room a quick glance, Clark liked how the dark burgundy and golden hues made the room appear regal in nature. That, plus the dark mahogany furniture, meshed with his friend's eccentric personality

"Clark, what do you want from me?" Lex seemed hesitant to take off his pants, which were tentatively hanging on for dear life to his hips.

Clark felt much more at ease standing naked in Lex's bedroom than he'd ever thought possible. This is where he should have been a long time ago. He could trust Lex with everything. And, any trace of fear he still had about Lex was washed away as his friend continued to patiently wait for his response. Clark could see that Lex was nearly on the verge of absolute worship over him. `How do I deserve that?'

"Everything. You can't hurt me." Grinning Clark looked down at himself, and noticed that he was only wearing black socks which looked way too corny. `Can't have that.' He bent down to pull them off, giving Lex a very inviting glimpse of his curved ass.

A light thump alerted Clark that Lex had decided to finish disrobing. Grinning even more with a hint of naughtiness, Clark was thrilled that his idea had worked like a charm.

Instantly turning to gaze at Lex, who began to walk towards him in the buff, Clark felt himself once again fully harden and lengthen out. It was a bit striking to see a grown man with little to no hair anywhere, but on Lex it just seemed to make him look even more special and unique in his own magnificent way.

Then they were finally together again. Being separated for just those few seconds had felt way too long. Feeling and touching and grunting unintelligible things. It felt so perfect that Clark knew he'd be extremely lonely come tomorrow morning. `Thinking is bad.'

The full sensation of Lex's whole body against his, skin sliding with sweat and tingling all over with energy, made Clark want to throw Lex on to the giant bed and start pounding into his body. `No.' Remembering his lack of control Clark froze. `I could literally tear Lex apart.'

Lex seemed to understand why he'd stopped, and his kind look full of comprehension made Clark even more self-conscious of his fear. Being afraid of your own body sucked big time. Gasping as Lex began to masturbate both of their cocks together in his hand; Clark vaguely decided to let Lex do him instead. Less worrying meant more fun. Lex was so damn good at it too. `Faster! Harder!'

Capturing Lex's mouth, Clark tried to join in on their mutual festivities down below. Lending a helping hand so to speak, Lex placed Clark's fingers around the tip of his own cock while he continued to expertly caress Clark's. It wasn't enough. Clenching Lex's ass firm enough to leave instant bruises, Lex moaned in a pleasure pain while his hand together with Clark's gripped their erections harder. All of these new sensations were so much better than doing this by himself while showering or laying in bed or...

Clark's body began to scream uncontrollably for something more, making him cry out loud. "More!" He could never get enough.

A strong hand grabbed onto his shoulder and twisted him around, as Lex's sultry voice feathered his ear from behind, "Bend over. You're going to love this."

They were now almost at Lex's bed, so Clark chose to be slightly more inventive than just blindly following Lex's orders, however fun they could turn out to be. Taking a step forward, Clark reached out and put his hands on the bed's metal footboard for support. It appeared to be quite strong. Finally, bending over comfortably and spreading his legs in anticipation, Clark smiled, ready for anything.

Hearing a soft hiss, Clark purposely wiggled his butt at Lex hoping for faster servicing. `Ask and ye shall receive.' He got way more than what he was expecting, when Lex's hands gently spread him wide and a warm slippery tongue licked the outside of his opening. `Oh my God!' Gasping in astonishment, Clark squirmed a bit before again begging for more. Lex's tongue continued to play and tease his rim, making him quite wet in the process. It was one of the weirdest things he'd ever experienced, but wow was it good. The continued attention caused his ass to become so sensitive that sudden spikes of bliss sent Clark into a tail spin of uncontrolled bouts of raging strength. This time it was the bed, which suffered his wraith. The warped metal in his fists was about to get even further punished as the last couple of moist plunges actually went inside him.

Panting, Clark was more than ready when Lex finally pulled back. Feeling the head of Lex's cock stroking at him tentatively, Clark impatiently pushed back and impaled himself at an incredible speed.

"Fuck!" Lex screamed while quivering deep within him.

`So, this is what it felt like? Different, yet nice.' Hoping for new and even better sensations, Clark let go of the bed with one hand and seized onto Lex's left hip, making Lex move back a bit then forwards, a couple of times before Lex started reacting of his own accord. What happened next was an unexpected pure ecstasy, as each thrust sent an uncontrollable wave of pleasure from somewhere inside Clark that was so foreign and new that at first he didn't know what to do. Crying out Lex's name seemed to be the best available option.

"Lex!!"

Lex must have really liked that, because he swiftly grabbed Clark's hips to pound his heart out into him with a sheer animal ferocity. Clark threw his head back, as a familiar pressure began to throb in the base of his untouched cock. Swaying slightly back and forth to keep in time with Lex, Clark tried to concentrate to stop himself from coming again so soon. `No. Yes. No.'

From behind him, Lex began to make louder and more desperate sounding noises. Unconsciously, Clark clenched his ass tighter around Lex's dick, making Lex more than double his already superb efforts. Closing his eyes, Clark was sure that if he'd kept them open much longer the bed would have gone up in flames. Flaming, burning everywhere. But, it was the best burn of all.

Clark was so close, so wanting, no needing to get just a little bit more to push him over the edge, and Lex's hand suddenly pumping his dick was definitely the thing that did it. Lex needed to be given a really shiny medal for that.

Howling to the heavens, Clark ripped the footboard in half, and refusing to care about any more destroyed property as Lex followed him soon after. Not caring was today's motif.

Panting, Clark was hugely impressed that he had actually broken a sweat as he looked down at his sleek chest. Now that really meant something.

Lex grudgingly pulled out as he stroked Clark's back and thighs. Turing around, Clark was delighted to be able to see and kiss Lex again. And he swore that next time he wanted to be able to watch Lex as he got fucked by him. His heart agreed to that idea.

This whole experience had been totally awesome, and now Clark couldn't help but yearn for a next time. `Maybe in another ten minutes?' What Clark wanted, he usually got. Both smelling of sex, they stumbled to the bathroom embracing each other while continuing to excel at pleasuring one another and revelling at their new physical bond.

Having an intimate shower together was like another fantasy come true. To hell with all thought and reason, Clark was thoroughly riveted in the moment. Using his imagination in a more hands on approach, Clark couldn't get enough of Lex's smiles and expressions of desire. While cleaning every little nook and cranny of each other and kissing and letting themselves enjoy the pleasures of soap and it's many uses, Clark decided to return one of Lex's earlier favors. Not letting the pouring water or his own nervousness dissuade him, Clark got onto his knees and tried his best at sucking and licking Lex's cock without damaging it. It was very scary and stimulating at the same time for him as Lex grabbed onto his wet hair and moaned above him. Shuddering at those sexy noises, Clark tried something a bit different. First rolling one of Lex's smooth balls with his tongue and getting a very encouraging response, Clark then opened his lips and gently began to massage it inside of his mouth. He'd always thought it would be cool to have that done to him, and wondered what it must feel like for Lex. Good? Very good? Excellent? Maybe Lex would give him a couple of gold stars for effort? That'd be funny. Maybe he should ask Lex later how many gold stars he'd earned to see what his friend would say.

When Lex actually said something comprehensible it was something Clark was totally unprepared for, "This is- really great. But... Unlike you I don't find freezing water a turn on. So, if you don't mind stopping what you're doing for a moment, I'm turning off the water and getting my cold ass out of here."

"Sure." Feeling the water hit him directly in his face for another two seconds, Clark didn't know whether he should feel stupid, ashamed, or simply feign ignorance for not even noticing that the shower had gone from hot, lukewarm to ice cold. `How long were we in here, anyway?'

Watching Lex almost jump out and run for a towel, Clark laughed. `How could he look any cuter?'

Not liking Lex's body covered up, Clark decided to warm Lex up a better way as he led them back to the bedroom. Soon, they were both burning hot again in their mutual desire for each others flesh.

Loving the feeling of a slippery Lex, Clark practically begged Lex to fuck him again, but only if he could watch. Happily obliging, they'd gone at it face to face in the missionary position where Lex unexpectedly chose to take it upon himself to break Clark from being a virgin in every possible way, by slowly sitting on top of Clark's cock and screwing himself on it. Clark thought his brain would explode from sensation overload at the feeling of insane tightness and heat that enclosed him, as he lay on the demolished and wet bed. Gasping and whimpering, Clark swore at how badly deficient his dreams had been. This was a trillion times better than he believed possible. Hell, if he'd known sex with Lex was this good he'd jumped his bones years ago.

It was sometime past midnight when they both at last got over the novelty of the moment and were finally able to just relax and quietly enjoy each other's company. As he looked around the room, Clark was relieved that he'd inflicted much less damage to Lex then to the rest of the bedroom and its furniture. Only a few scratches and medium sized bruises riddled his friend's otherwise perfect body, and watching as the oldest ass marks were beginning to fade made Clark even more contented. Getting full control over all of his powers during sex was going to take a little bit longer to tackle then he would have liked, but he now felt much more comfortable in doing the actual activities without a fatality or mortal injury.

Frowning, Clark saw that it was past one am and he began to brood over what tomorrow may bring. It was his responsibility alone to fix time. To make the world a better place by ruining his new found current happiness. Happiness in knowing that he could have Lex every single day and night without ever having to worry about school, his parents, Lionel, or society in general. Nothing that wonderful came without a cost. He just couldn't let Elizabeth passively rule the world. But, if he succeeded in stopping her then he'd have to think long and hard about what was annoyingly right and wrong to do. In a way, Clark felt like tonight had been the most selfish thing he'd done so far today. He'd wanted Lex and he had been willing to do almost anything to get him naked and screwing his unhappiness away. And now, now tomorrow it'd be nothing.

He really hated himself at that very moment.

Not wanting to look at Lex, Clark closed his eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For using you."

Lex gently turned Clark's face towards his, forcing Clark to look at him. The kind eyes that stared at him made Clark feel even worse, as Lex asked, "Are you?"

It burned. Whatever it was: guilt, remorse or something else entirely different, made Clark's heart ache within his chest. "I don't know."

"Then you have nothing to be sorry about. If you were using me, you'd know it." Lex seemed so sure about that. Leaning over to tenderly kiss him, Lex didn't say anything else.

Holding into his dearest friend, Clark felt for the first time how much Lex had become a part of him. It was nice to know that one of his destinies was a good thing, or at least he believed that he could make it one if he so wished it. And Clark did. Tomorrow was uncertain and very scary, but no matter what happened, Clark would still know that Lex loved him. It was only right to properly tell his friend that those feelings were indeed being returned.

Giving Lex a hug, Clark meaningfully said, "You know, I really do love you."

"Amor vincit omnia."

Whatever that meant, Clark was sure it was something good.

Day Twelve

Through a red haze, a jagged bolt of lightening momentarily lit up the chaos that enveloped him. As Clark took in the entire landscape presented to him, in horror, he recognized that he was standing in the middle of Smallville, which now all lay in blackened ruins. It was gone. The ground beneath his feet once again shook violently from a disturbance from deep within its very core. This was a purely unnatural event, earthquakes didn't hit Kansas. This wasn't real. The supernatural sounding growls of moving debris and sinister hisses of steam added to his decision that this had to be a nightmare. Moving forward, a suffocating heat that burned his lungs only intensified the feeling that he was now in hell. After walking through the unholy desecration, he finally made it to what was left of his parents yellow home. Abruptly the roof exploded into a spiraling inferno of lava. And in the middle of the super-heated liquid, a woman stood surrounded in a blue glow screaming out in agony, `LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!'

Clark woke up with a start, lying on his stomach, in a chaotic manner with arms and legs dangling off the sides of the mattress. Instantly hating that he was back home and alone, he smashed his face into the pillow grumbling to himself about having to face the day yet again. And after such a crappy dream like that getting up to face the day sounded like an even less fun idea than putting a chunk of kryptonite down his pants.

Making himself think happier thoughts, he grinned at a very realistic vision of a naked and wanting Lex in his head. Moving a bit, Clark felt his morning erection push into the mattress. It was practically begging to be stroked by Lex, and damn it, that wasn't helping his mood either. Lex. He wanted to be back at the mansion with Lex, not here is his tiny old room.

The beep, beep, beeping alarm clock, should be put out of its misery sooner rather than later.

Before voluntarily stirring to actually get out of bed, he thought he heard the sound of movement in his room and the unusual sensation of being watched made him ponder whether his dream had summoned his mom upstairs or not. For all he knew, he could have been screaming during it.

Turning his head a fraction of an inch he watched as a petite hand turned off the alarm clock on the table next to the side of his bed. Having such dire and bleak dreams sucked big time. Too bad they tended to reflect on his real life as well. `Real twisted crappy life.'

Clark was caught totally unaware by the familiar female voice that abruptly stated behind him, "You sleep like the dead. That thing has being going off for the last five minutes."

That was not his mom.

He was standing right in Elizabeth's face an eye blink later, wearing only his boxers, trying with no avail to physically touch her. "What have you done to my parents!?"

"I haven't done anything to them. Why would you think of me as being such a monster?" She frowned, appearing confused that he'd instantly come to the conclusion that she must have harmed his parents.

"You killed me." Clark spat out. Disheartened to realize that brute force really wasn't going to accomplish anything against her, Clark felt even angrier as he couldn't even lay a finger on her.

"It was intended as a stern warning to leave me alone. One which you obviously ignored, Mr. Clark Kent." Elizabeth tilted her head watching his actions with a trace of amusement.

"You can't just expect me to stand by and do nothing." Pacing like a caged lion Clark sneered, "I've already given you my speech on ethics. And that was my final warning. Get out of my house!" Deciding to try something else, Clark used his heat vision, directly hitting her in the chest with as much powerful force as he could muster.

She took a step back and gasped but otherwise didn't appear injured. Raising an eyebrow, Elizabeth waved her hand in front of herself with a look of absolute amazement. "What are you?"

"The person who's going to stop you."

"That is unnec-"

The room shifted and warped around him, while the nauseous feeling that hit Clark was comparable to all four from yesterday put together times two. Clark dropped to the floor like he'd been beheaded by a guillotine. The pain in his midsection was so severe that Clark thought he'd actually pass out. He could only lie on the floor and to fight just to breathe, Clark groaned clenching his mouth closed and swallowed his own vomit. That was very disgusting. He was determined that he wasn't going to allow her to see how badly she was making him feel. He had to keep some of his dignity intact.

These episodes of pain and vertigo had started around the time he'd first met Elizabeth, and it was too much of a coincidence for Clark to ignore. She had to be causing his nausea somehow. After putting two and two together, he felt stupid to have not realized the connection earlier. What had started out as a minor annoyance could have turned into a tragic flaw.

Tears streamed down the side of his face as he fought to open his eyes. Elizabeth could be doing anything right now while he was in such a helpless state. She could finally decide to finish whatever it was she was planning to do in his very own home. `God, she's followed me back to Smallville.' Not believing for a second that she was no danger to his parents, Clark forced himself to open his eyes while the rest of his motor functions still refused to comply with his brain's demands.

Surprised, Clark moaned at the vision before him. Elizabeth appeared to have dropped sideways onto the exact spot that he'd last seen her and was currently in the thrones of an agony that seemed to be much greater than his own. Gripping the sides of her head, Clark could see blood like tears weeping out of the sides of her eyes. `What the hell was going on?'

"Dear Lord!"

His mom had entered his bedroom, and after seeing both him and some strange woman on the floor curled into fetal positions from pain, she was freaking out.

"Clark, what's wrong?" `Wasn't that a loaded question?' And if he could talk, Clark wasn't quite sure where to begin.

Warm arms wrapped around his body to comfort him, as Clark suffered through the last harsh waves of sickness.

Weakly, Clark grabbed onto his mom and tried to push her away, "Get out of here. She's too dangerous."

Elizabeth began to moan louder behind him as she may have been trying to get up. Not being able to see her, Clark wasn't quite sure what she was doing.

"Who is that woman? And what is she doing in your room?" His mom looked far too determined to stay exactly where she was.

"Please. I can handle this." Feeling a bit stronger, Clark was able to sit up. Seeing that Elizabeth was still on the floor and holding her head, he struggled to stand up.

Needing his mother as a literal crutch, Clark continued to wheeze as his internal organs complained at his every movement. Dry-heaving a couple more times seemed to appease his stomach as it stopped threatening to turn itself inside out.

His mom continued to hold him close, soothingly petting his back while glaring fiercely at the woman in the floor. "How are you feeling now? Are there any rocks on her? Is that why you're feeling ill?"

"No, she doesn't have anything like that on her. Mom, I'm going to be okay. I just need to think for a moment."

Clark frowned, caught in a horrible dilemma of what to do next. This could be his one opportunity to stop her, right here and now. He could do it. Just run over and snap her neck while she was too weak to fight back. If she was too weak to stand up, he didn't think she'd be strong enough to erect whatever force-field she'd had around herself earlier, and he'd be able to touch her. `Yes, murder Elizabeth right in front of my mom.' Brilliant idea. How could something that unethical ever be right? And why was he even thinking about it? He could try talking to her again, she'd come to him for a reason. Maybe they could come to some sort of compromise? That sounded so unlikely.

His mom broke him out of his thoughts, "Honey, please tell me what's going on. You're scaring me."

"I don't know if I can. This woman is plaguing me..." Glancing down at the woman who appeared so helpless and sad, Clark began to feel badly for her horrible predicament. `How could I think about killing her? She only wants to be with the person she loves. And I want Lex. God, how I want Lex to be here instead of my mom.' Identifying with those feelings of love and loneliness, Clark paraphrased a line from `The Modern Prometheus', "She seeks to cure death, but instead has bought a never-ending torture onto herself. And I pity her for that."

Aghast, his mom stared at him before giving a momentary look back at the floor, "You don't sound like yourself. What has she done to you?"

"Everything and nothing." Rubbing his temple, Clark honestly didn't know whether he should curse Elizabeth or thank her for what he'd gone through over the last ten odd days. The whole forced learning experience thing had been a big kick to his ego and heart.

His mom handed him a shirt, which he absently put on. `Always a mom.' Slowly she began to move towards Elizabeth, Clark put out his hand to stop her from getting any closer and shook his head `no.' She began to complain, "But-"

His mom's arm suddenly felt like stone under Clark's fingers. Turning to look at her face, Clark was taken aback by the glazed expression she wore. Waving his hand in front of her eyes received absolutely no response. "Mom?"

No blinking or movement of any kind, not even breathing, God, her heart wasn't even beating, Clark continued to stare. His mom appeared before him like a standing corpse with her arms and legs firmly stuck in a walking position, mirroring the effects of rigor mortis. It was like the `House of Wax' horror movie he'd watched when he was a kid. Feeling the rising rush of a panic attack, Clark jolted when he heard a calm voice speak to him from the ground.

"I know what you were planning on doing today, and it's not necessary. That's why I came. To tell you..." Elizabeth now had drying blood smeared all over her face, and with her possessed looking blue eyes, it made her look like either a murder victim or the murderer.

He no longer felt any pity towards her. If she'd hurt his mom, he would kill her. It was the plain and simple truth. "What have you done to my mom?"

"I stopped her. The immediate area surrounding her body is frozen in time. I swear, it's not harming her in any way. I just wanted to be able to talk privately with you." Still looking like death warmed over, Elizabeth had somehow gotten off the floor and was shaking her head back and forth strangely.

"You have my full attention." Clark clenched his jaw and his fists tightly.

"I have the ability to manipulate what you call time. For me, it's almost like a living and breathing entity that I can feel and touch. And because of me it's bleeding. I've made her angry and she is punishing me for trying to keep her unnaturally caged for so long. My time is running out." She trembled on her feet, "I promise that it will be over for you soon. Please, leave my husband and me alone... I'd like to enjoy my time with him while I still can."

`Wow, that sounded like crazy talk.' Even though most of it didn't seem to make sense, Clark believed she was trying to tell him that she wasn't going to be able to make Friday repeat for much longer. Not knowing whether he should feel happy or upset by that revelation, he decided to go with relieved. Standing protectively in front of his mother, Clark asked, "Is that what you came here to tell me?"

Bemused by his protective pose, Elizabeth nodded, "Yes."

Clark stated bitterly, "Well, that's just great. Thanks. But, a phone call would have been enough. I didn't need to wake up with you invading my home." Holding onto his mother's stiff arm, Clark asked for a bit more clarity on their shared-suffering. "And the fun rolling around on the floor thing we just did, do you happen to know what that's all about?"

"Your body isn't like normal people. I believe you have some sort of internal clock that I can't turn back, that's why you keep your memories intact like I do." Elizabeth appeared mostly composed again, except for the blood. "But, why you get sick as well... I don't know. Maybe we're connected in some way for you to be able to feel my pain? My sister had a similar problem. She always got nauseous whenever I got my headaches." Suddenly sad, she looked away from him in distress.

`All this time I've been feeling her pain? And what about her sister?' Clark vaguely recalled reading that she'd died. Hiding his revulsion Clark said, "I guess, that must be it. Now, I'd appreciate it if you stop whatever it is you're doing to my mom and leave."

His wish was granted almost before he'd finished speaking.

"Oh my- Where did she go? That woman just disappeared. I'm almost certain I didn't look away. Clark did you see her leave? Clark?" His mom acted like nothing had happened to her whatsoever. It was kinda creepy.

"No, I didn't." This was just too much. Everything had happened so fast, Clark hoped that he could get away with lying to his mom about Elizabeth. He didn't want her needlessly worrying about Elizabeth for the rest of the day. Who knows, maybe tomorrow would be Saturday and he could try to forget about every bizarre thing that had happened to him and go back to being nice and happy Clark Kent? Stranger things have been known to happen, especially in Smallville. "I don't know who she was. I woke up and she was in my room asking me questions about her dead husband. I had no idea what she was talking about. She thought I'd be able to help her. And, then the next thing I knew, I was on the ground feeling sick."

Puzzled, his mom stared straight into his deceitful face and acted like she believed him. One thing that Clark had learned to become better at in the last week and a half was lying, but he wasn't proud about that fact.

"How did she get into your room without your dad or me seeing her?" Still worried, his mom bent down and wiped at the blood stained floor with a tissue.

"I think she can teleport. Sorry, these things keep happening to me. Please, if you see her again stay away from her. I think she might be mentally unstable." Trying hard not to fidget or appear overly suspicious, Clark hoped she'd let the topic drop.

"I really don't like this." Smiling uncomfortably, his mom gave one last glance around the room, "You know, I really hope no other girls magically appear in your bedroom for at least another few months. I don't think my heart could take it. If you start feeling ill again, please let me know. And if you see her again I want to know immediately."

"I will." `I hope no one magically appears in my room again either, two is enough. At least the first time I enjoyed it a lot more.' Making out with Alicia in his bed had been quite nice, having his dad barge in had not. But, that felt like it had happened ages ago already.

"Good. Get washed up. I'm making omelets, with lots of cheese and ham just the way you like it." Giving a small sigh of relief, Clark watched as his mom began to leave his room. He knew she'd never buy that story, but at least for the rest of today, she would be happy and safe to live another day. She was one of the strongest and smartest non-super powered women he would even know. "Sounds great, I'll be right there!"

Then it hit him.

Racing downstairs in his t-shirt and boxers, Clark almost mowed over his mother in the kitchen. "What did you just say?"

In the middle of cracking an egg open on the side of a bowl, his mom glanced up in surprise. "That I hope no more girls show up in your room?"

"No after that."

"I'm making an omelet?" Her worried look quickly returned.

"Yes, why are you doing that? Why not pancakes?" Clark shook with urgency, wanting to get the answers out of her faster.

"Now that you mention it, when I got up this morning I had the full intension of making pancakes and then I just- Didn't want to."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Maybe I changed my mind." She watched him with concern and asked, "Are you sure you're okay? You know that you're acting very odd, right?" Thinking too much to notice his mother's expression or actions, Clark started scanning around the room hoping to see something different or out of place, but didn't.

`Elizabeth must have come to tell me that she couldn't turn back time anymore. `Oh my God! Could this be Saturday?' "What day is it today?"

"Friday, May 28, 2004"

`No, that's not right.' Then again, if it was Saturday today, he would have been sleeping in Lex's bed this morning and not here. "Are you sure?"

"I can go check the calendar."

"No, it's okay."

What the hell was he supposed to do now? Sitting at the table while his mom continued to give him concerned glances his way every couple of seconds, from the kitchen counter, Clark sighed not knowing what to do. Feeling defeated, Clark slumped his head into his folded arms, blocking his vision of the room around him.

"This is CNN-- A major earthquake stuck off the southern west coast of Russia late Thursday, killing hundreds, but fears of mudslides and further aftershocks are still plaguing the people in the area of the Sikhote Alin Range.

On Russia's Sakhalin Island at least 300 people died and hundreds more were reported injured or trapped, said government spokesman Alexander Yakovenko.

But international news agencies are reporting that between 1,000 and 2,000 people may have been killed on Sakhalin Island..."

"Honey, you know that whatever is going on, you can tell me? Your dad and I are here to help you and no matter how difficult things seem to get you will always have us by your side." His mom was absently frying up breakfast while busily worrying about him. He wished that she'd stop from doing the latter.

"Yeah, I know." The smell of yummy eggs, cheese, ham and other wholesome ingredients made his stomach growl in a demanding way. `God, it was nice for a change. But, why the change in her cooking today? What did it mean?'

His mom offered, "If you're still not feeling well, you can stay home from school today if you want. I'll let them know that you're sick."

"No. I'm fine, really." If his nausea problems got much worse, he'd just stay in bed and never get up for the day. He was mentally sick of having to get up anyway, so why bother?

Before eating, Clark quickly went upstairs to put some more clothes on. Not really caring what he wore, he grabbed a pair of sweat pants and mismatched socks. The actual eating part of breakfast was thankfully uneventful, though it did leave him with more questions than answers. The main one being: What the heck was he going to do today?

Walking around outside without a real purpose, Clark was astounded to hear quite explicit language coming from his dad. `Different.'

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, this damn piece of junk is a lemon. We bought it less than a year ago, and I'm sick of it breaking down all the time." The last tractor they'd had, Clark had accidentally thrown a mile across their farm and onto the main road, having the only witness, Perry White, and then tailing him like a hush-puppy for a few days asking too many questions because of it. `Joyful memories.'

"I don't recall the tractor having any mechanical problems. It just looks like a flat tire to me?"

"These tires are expensive, Clark, and if I have to keep changing them every other day I won't be able to afford it." What the hell was his dad talking about? Sure, Clark felt like he'd changed the tire a couple of million times by now, but his dad had never noticed that fact before.

Lifting the tractor above his head like he had the day before, Clark said, "To my knowledge this is the first time you've had to. You must have run over something pretty sharp to cause this much damage, but it's not the tractors fault you did."

His dad looked at him strangely, "I could have sworn that I did this yesterday, I remember something but it's such a vague memory, maybe I dreamt it?" Pacing back and forth while Clark removed the tire his dad continued, "Your right, I don't think I did. My head hurts."

Listening closely to what his dad was saying and not paying much attention to what his hands where doing, Clark dropped the ripped tire into the ground with a bit too much force. His parents where remembering stuff from the repeating Friday, but didn't know it yet. `What did Chloe and Pete remember? Crap, what did Lex remember?'

"Don't just stand there. If you don't hurry up and finish, you're gonna be late for school." His dad wiped an orange substance onto a towel instead of his face.

Did he really want to go to school again? Burning with curiosity, Clark had to find out how much everyone else was being affected differently today. It was almost exciting that something was different, without him having to change it himself.

Now screwing on the new tire's nuts and bolts, Clark was dismayed when another violent attack of dizziness and weakness caused him to drop the one ton tractor onto himself in a smash of metal and rubber.

"Clark!"

Buried underneath the large vehicle that now needed more than just a broken tire replaced, Clark silently suffered though the worst of his unnatural illness. Other than a sick stomach and a bit of a headache he was otherwise unharmed. It was, in a way, nice to know that even in his helpless state he still couldn't be physically harmed.

Clark called out from under the wreckage, "I'm okay. My hand slipped!" Sure, it'd slipped when he'd clutched his gut with both hands, but he knew he wouldn't have been able to continue holding it for much longer either. And now, his dad was going to be worried for the rest of the day about having to buy another new tractor. `I need to stop breaking expensive things.'

Clark didn't want to tell his dad everything, just like he hadn't confessed all to his mom like he should have. In a way, he wanted to wait and see what else was going to happen before sending his parents into a big panic mode. Unfortunately, as soon as his dad went back into the house his mom would inform him about her Elizabeth encounter and Clark's abnormal behaviors in the kitchen and they'd most likely come to some interesting conclusions. `Crappy, but unavoidable.'

After getting his strength back, Clark pushed the tractor off of himself and shakily stood up. His clothes were covered in oil, gas and other smelly flammable liquids. He really needed a shower now.

Frantic arms folded around Clark. "Son, what the hell happened?"

"I'm really sorry. You were right I shouldn't have been showing off like that." Clark replied, not realizing that is was a comment to something his dad had said to him the day before. Clark felt guilty for destroying the tractor. `Why did I have to lift it above my head anyway? I could have fixed it just as easily on the ground.'

"I don't care about that. It's just a material object." His dad pulled back to study him close up, "I saw you. You were in pain."

Smiling, Clark tried to brush off his now regular bout of queasiness as being something much more trivial, "I'll be fine. I promise." Gesturing at his clothes he continued, "I really need to get washed up. I'm gonna be late for school. Try not to worry about me. I'll see ya later."

Clark wasn't concerned about being late, but it was exciting at what might be happening there. Zipping past his mother, he undressed halfway up the stairs before jumping into the shower and quickly washing off most of the goo. `No more parental looks of concern or questions about my health, please.'

Leaving the house just as fast, Clark was relieved to be only ten minutes late for English class. Intently watching everyone in class, he was disappointed that most of the students either looked as bored or sadly excited as they usually did while listening to the lecture about Hamlet. When it was finally over, Clark was raring to get answers to some of his questions.

"So, did you sleep in again?" Chloe smirked, taking a dig as his tardiness.

"No. I had to help my Dad fix the tractor and it took longer than I thought." Clark walked next to the happy couple comfortably, "And how are things with you guys? Everything's normal?"

Chloe hesitated before saying, "I guess. Why wouldn't it be?"

"My parent's were acting kinda weird this morning. They seemed to be remembering things that hadn't happened yet." Clark tried to make it sound unimportant.

"Cool. You mean like dj vu?" Pete grinned, thrilled with that idea.

"Yeah." Clark nodded. `If only he knew.'

"I remember being extra pissed off when the alarm woke me up this morning. Does that count?" Chloe laughed. "No, really. I totally thought that it was Saturday this morning and that I didn't have to get up early, but that's happened to me before. I think that's happened to everyone."

Pete snorted, "God, I remember about two years ago. I just woke up and even though it was dark out I got up, had a shower and got dressed for school, before seeing that it was five am-"

This wasn't working. They didn't remember anything. Feeling miserable, Clark was in the middle of deciding not to question them anymore, when by chance Jack Swanson, with his slutty looking girlfriend in tow, walked past them.

Chloe immediately reacted by snickering out loud, "He's wearing a hot pink thong."

"How do you- wait I remember seeing that." Pete gaped at Clark with a what the hell look.

The quarterback must have heard her, because he stopped and turned to look in their direction before making his way back towards them. "What did you just say?"

"I said that I'm wearing a pink thong- Are you interested? I think your girlfriend might mind if you saw it? But- For you, anything." Chloe grabbed onto the waist band of her jeans and pulled at her zipper.

"No! Get away from me." Jack twisted backwards before quickly leading his disgusted companion away from the three of them.

"Psyche." Chloe beamed like she'd just won the super-bowl.

"What the hell was that all about?" Pete looked very unhappy. Clark could have easily protected his friends if the guy had started getting physical, but he knew how Pete quietly hated how overshadowed he was by Clark. And, Chloe was great at sticking up for herself. Out of the three of them, Pete was the one people tended to notice the least.

Feeling sad and happy at the same time, Clark was relieved to have some more proof that the general population seemed to be retaining some of their memories. "So Chloe, where did you find out that interesting information?"

"I don't know." Looking stressed, she said, "Look, we're gonna be late for math. Why don't we talk about this at lunch and see if anyone remembers anything else?"

That sounded like a great idea. Clark grinned as he continued to watch his fellow students around him. What were they thinking and remembering? Thank God, he hadn't gotten caught yesterday during his immature pranks, imagine how much trouble he'd be in if people recalled that? Or if anyone had seen him using his powers? No longer smiling, Clark went into math class with the intent of getting a very nice `A' on his exam, and not getting any unneeded attention his way. He had to be on his best behavior just in case.

At lunch, Pete and Chloe mentioned that the math exam had felt very familiar to them, and they both appeared eager to investigate further. It was time for an explanation. Finally, giving his friends a watered down version of what was going on, he told them that the last few days had been repeating and that some woman named Elizabeth Hoffman had been the cause. He also told them that she seemed to be weakening and it didn't appear that Elizabeth would be able to make the day repeat much longer. Clark hoped his hypothesis was correct there.

After comparing some actual written notes, Clark was relieved that Chloe and Pete had absolutely no memory of his destroying the school a few days ago. And by the sounds of it, they only recalled a few regular school events and of course some of yesterdays shenanigans. But, Clark hadn't done anything of particular interest with his two friends' between the gap of `smash school smash', and yesterday. How much would Lex remember, he had no idea. `Why don't I go ask him?' And pigs loved to fly around the world in 80 days.

At the end of their discussion, Clark had to sit down on a chair, bend forward with his head in between his knees and concentrate on not throwing up as he broke out into a cold sweat. That, of course, sent a barrage of concerned questions his way by both of his friend's. When he was able to, Clark informed them that he was some how connected with Elizabeth and was feeling her pain from over using her powers. Once again, that was an educated guess, but it seemed to be the most logical answer. Clark mentioned that he'd heard that Elizabeth's deceased sister had similar problems, and Chloe immediately went running off to investigate what she'd died from, leaving him alone to talk with Pete about more personal matters.

"Anything else you'd like to tell me?" Pete peered at him questioningly.

"Nothing more than I'm sick of being sick. And that none of my special abilities have been very special against her. You guys remembering stuff has been my first ray of sunshine in what feels like forever in my little war against her."

"I just can't believe you got us to terrorize the football team. Hell, I wish I could remember all of it instead of a few bits and pieces. Man, if only I could taunt the Crows in front of their faces just once, I'd die happy. " Pete laughed. "You'd better hope Chloe doesn't remember any of the finer details about you, or you'll be in trouble."

"I know. Big Sullivan trouble. The worse kind."

They laughed again.

Mulling over the events in his head, and after weighing the good against the bad, Clark came to the conclusion that it had been an all around awful idea. "It was kinda fun at the time, but stupid none the less on my part."

Poking him, Pete didn't seem to understand why Clark was so serious, "Hey, Clark, if you don't let your hair down every once in a while, you'd become a prude."

Clark twitched his nose comically, "We wouldn't want that."

Laughing, they made their way to Biology class, in which Chloe ended up being suspiciously absent for.

As the school bell rang, Clark's cell phone chirped out an embarrassing ring tone, it sounded like some weird circus tune. `I'm never going to let Chloe play with it again.' Answering, Clark wasn't too surprised to hear Chloe happily talking on the other end.

"Yes. Really? Interesting." Clark rolled his eyes at Pete while making silly hand talking movements in front of him, making his friend snicker. Ending his conversation with, "Good, good. We'll be right over." Clark put his phone away and told Pete, "She wants us to meet her at the Talon. She's been spending all of her free time interviewing people and of course gathering vital information."

"Do you think I should marry her?" Clark gave Pete's mirthful look a good eye rolling.

"Hey, with her smarts and resourcefulness I'd never have to work. I could be Pete Ross couch potato extraordinaire."

"I dare you to ask her for real." Clark kidded.

"Let's not go crazy here." They continued their friendly banter as they made their way to Smallville's finest, but soon to be closed, coffee shop. Clark was feeling okay enough to talk with Lana for a bit. If she remembered their talk about kissing Lex it might not go so well, but hey at least he'd find out how far back people were able to remember, since that was two days ago for him.

Entering the familiar establishment, Clark saw a familiar group of strangers sitting at the far side of the room. They were the ones who must have contacted the police about him oh so long ago.

Distracted, it took a loud yell from Chloe to grab his attention. "Clark, over here!"

Before arriving to the round booth that Chloe and Lana were sitting at, Chloe began to tell Pete and Clark about her great discovery, "Jennifer Cross was diagnosed with Meniere's disease. She died about eleven years ago, but get this, a person can't actually die from it."

That made Clark feel a bit more relieved. He didn't even realize how much he'd been worrying about that foreboding tid-bit about Elizabeth's sister since that morning's reign of havoc.

"Meniere's disease has four main symptoms: fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus which is like a ringing in the ears, aural fullness kinda that feeling of pressure in your ear like when your descending in an airplane, but the most physically disabling is the unpredictable rotational vertigo, a form of severe dizziness. Elizabeth's sister died from falling down a flight of stairs not from her so called disease." Chloe slapped down a bunch of papers onto the table excitedly. "I think she didn't even have Meniere's, considering how rare it is in younger people and the fact that Elizabeth told you that her powers affected you similarly to how they'd affected her sister. After finding nothing else wrong with her, the doctor's must have taken her bouts of dizziness and slapped her with some type of label. And Meniere's disease had the closest symptoms."

`Wow, all that in less than two hours? Maybe I should marry her?' Clark picked up the papers and sifted through some of them.

"Mystery solved." Pete grinned, giving her a big kiss on the side of her cheek.

"Hey, there's more." Chloe pouted, before giving Pete a quick hug. "A week after her sisters death, Elizabeth was committed into a mental institution for digging up her body, claiming that she could bring her back. Creepy. Her stay there lasted for over a month."

`Grave robbing? Can we say issues?' If Elizabeth had problems dealing with her sister's death, Clark could understand how she wouldn't get any better coping with her husband dying on her as well.

Lana spoke up, "Chloe filled me in, and she sure sounds kinda scary. Is she in Smallville right now?"

"I don't think so." Clark looked at Lana closely trying to determine her mood towards him. All he got was one of her innocent looking smiles. She looked genuinely concerned about him.

"Good, I don't think I'd like to meet her. So what's up with the days repeating? I noticed earlier that today has beginning to feel quite repetitious for me. But, after working here for almost two years, I'd thought it was just me."

`Did I say two or three days before? Why isn't my brain working right?' "Today's Friday has repeated, I think about three times, Elizabeth told me that and-"

And the door to the Talon opened with one sleek and sexy looking Lex Luthor striding into the place like he owned it. Wait, didn't he still own it? Clark couldn't stop staring at Lex who turned and gave him a sweet little grin. `Oh my, oh my, oh...'

"Clark? And then what?" Lana sounded a bit impatient. Clark felt annoyed at her interruption. `Didn't Chloe already tell her this part anyway?'

"And she said some more stuff and left-" Preoccupied, Clark stopped talking as an unusual amount of anxiety swept over him as he continued to watch Lex's analytical expression.

Glaring, Lana looked in the direction that Clark was staring at and said, "Lex. Why don't you come over here and have a seat. I can get you another chair, or if we smoosh over a bit there's lots of room here. I think Clark has something interesting to tell you."

`Oh dear Lord, Lana! Why did you have to say that?' "I- I..."

Lana made Chloe move even closer against Pete, while having herself bump into the side of Chloe. But, Clark didn't budge an inch next to Pete. Lex was now standing next to the smallish spot beside Lana, looking a bit wary of sitting there.

"What are you doing here?" Clark couldn't quite believe how rude that sounded coming out of his mouth. But it was true, to Clark's knowledge Lex had never gone to the Talon on this day before. What made him change his mind?

Lex studied Clark for a moment before answering, "I wanted to get out and enjoy this nice day we're having. And to have a coffee."

Clark glanced at Lana, expecting her to get said coffee; instead she stayed sitting there like a dope.

It was now Chloe's turn to make Clark feel even more uncomfortable and nervous, "So, do you remember anything odd happening so far today?"

"What do you mean by odd?" Lex frowned, giving Clark a fleeting look.

"Well, it seems Smallville and maybe even the rest of the world-" Chloe glanced at Clark who tried to nod a yes, but wasn't sure whether his head had actually moved or not. "Are having some dj vu problems, due to a grand scale time manipulation by one evilly powerful woman."

"You're saying that people are remembering events that have already happened or will happen?" Lex continued to stand. It'd been a while since he'd been invited to join Clark's little clique of friends.

"They've already happened. Today, but like yesterday today and the day before that which was also today." Chloe excitedly stated. "I've interviewed at least a dozen people in the last hour, and they've all, to a certain degree, had the impression of having seen or experienced something before, today. But it's happening for the first time today. Whether it's something as mundane as vacuuming or going to work to having a more unusual experience like let's say being robbed for example."

Lex purposely did not look at Clark when he answered, "My father called me this morning to make a business appointment tomorrow with him. It seemed rather familiar to me at the time, but other than that I don't recall anything out of the ordinary." Clark studied Lex using his full range of abilities. During his `I don't recall anything' statement, Lex's heart rate had dramatically increased. `He's lying.'

Opening his mouth to say so, Clark closed it just as fast, not believing that he'd blow that particular secret wide open in front of Lana, Pete and Chloe. He had to act like these people, his friend's, were from now on going to remember everything like before. Before crazy land had taken over his reality. Which was what normal life was, not living in a fun dream world where no one stayed hurt and everyone stayed blissfully ignorant of the changes, or lack of, around them. Clark now had no idea what was going to happen tomorrow. Was tomorrow going to be tomorrow? Honestly, Elizabeth still seemed strong enough to repeat another day, so Clark wasn't getting his hopes up quite yet. He had to be prepared for Saturday at the same time.

Bad timing unfortunately seemed to be the only timing Clark had lately, because he really wanted to talk to Lex in private, if possible, but he couldn't do that if he started tossing his cookies on to Lex's nice leather shoes.

"Hey man, you're looking a little green again."

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"Stop pawing at him, Pete, and let him breathe! It should be over soon."

"Chloe, do you know what's happening to him?"

Mortified, Clark could only sit and shiver in his seat as the Talon spun around him like a merry-go-round on steroids. Crap, if Lex didn't get out of the way right now he was going to puke all over his shoes. Clenching his hands into fists to stop from damaging anything, Clark could no longer hold back his wrathful stomach. Aiming for the tiled floor, and as far away from Lex as he could, Clark got violently sick.

"I'll go get a mop and some other stuff."

"Shit! That's just wrong."

"Lana, while you're at it, I think you should call his parents!"

"Someone should explain what exactly is happening to Clark... Right now!"

With his eyes closed, all Clark could concentrate on was the rank taste in his mouth and the putrid smell entering his nostrils. Yup, going home sounded like a mighty fine idea.

Reaching out blindly for some type of support, as Clark tried weakly to get away from the mess on the floor, he was surrounded by well-known arms and a much better smell. `Oh Lex, why did you come here? You couldn't have known I'd be here.' A cloth wiped a bit of gross drool from the side of his face. `How romantic.'

Lex's voice spoke into his ear as a warm hand massaged his back. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"Yes."

The many voices and movements of his friend's behind him were ignored as Clark trustingly let Lex lead him out of the Talon, still clutching onto him for support as the attack of vertigo didn't seem to want to go away.

Getting into the Mercedes was a task, and once that hazardous chore was accomplished, Clark vowed not to wreck the inside of Lex's car. Concentrating on controlling his breathing and trying not to let any of the bumps in the road bother him, Clark was comforted by Lex's caring presence and was grateful for his help. Elizabeth had to be getting worse, fast.

A hand touched his fevered cheek. "We're almost there."

Clark moaned before opening his eyes for the first time since leaving the Talon, he saw Lex's look of terror. Hating that expression of fear, Clark wanted to make his friend feel better. "Thank you. I'm going to be fine. I promise."

"I'll hold you to your word." Lex tried to smile.

Clark replied bitterly, "Yeah, my word is golden in your books isn't it?"

Lex frowned, "You're not thinking clearly right now. Try to relax."

Another minute of driving gave Clark ample time to decide what to say to Lex next.

"Lex?" His friend glanced at him as they pulled up the Kent's driveway. "If you remember this tomorrow, I promise I'll tell you everything. It's only fair, and you deserve it."

`Everything. That's one big promise.' At that moment, Clark meant every single word of it. And, even though, Lex's look of disbelief wasn't quite the heart-warming response that Clark had hoped for, it would have to do.

Opening his door, Clark tried to get out by himself; unfortunately, he only managed to fall out of the car and Lex wasn't quite fast enough to catch him. Staring at the dirt helplessly, Clark wished himself to feel better- trying to forcibly will strength into his body that just wasn't there. Feeling this pitiful was horrible.

Lex wrapped his arms around Clark, and used most of his strength to get Clark into a standing position. Helping Clark to the door, they didn't make it all the way there before his parents came bursting out of the house and forcibly took him out of Lex's arms and into their own. The loss of contract with the person he'd come to realize he loved was jarring. `No.'

"Lex what the hell is going on? Lana called and told us that Clark was badly sick." His dad's expression was a mixture apprehension rolled up with a bit of confusion.

"I don't know. I think Chloe may have more information than I do." Lex stood by the front porch as Clark's mom brought Clark into the living room and sat him down onto the couch. Clark had to concentrate to hear the rest of his dad and Lex's conversation.

"We appreciate you bringing him home, but it would be for the best if you leave Clark here with us. This is a family matter. Clark can phone you later on or if he's still not feeling good you can visit him tomorrow." His dad most likely wanted to get Lex out of the way, so he could give Clark a big lecture on honestly and hiding his problems from them. Okay, and to do a ton of parental worrying as well.

Clark groaned into a pillow, not wanting Lex to leave, but it didn't seem like he had any choice in the matter. `Maybe I should just go to bed and sleep until tomorrow?'

"I think he should see a doctor. I can have one here in a matter of minutes."

"No. That's for us to determine, not you. I'm sure Clark will be fine, it's most likely food poisoning."

"If that is what you've decided than there's not much I can do. Please, contact me if he gets any worse."

Clark felt terribly unhappy as he listened to Lex's footsteps quickly travel back to his vehicle. `God, Lex must be so worried about me. `Tomorrow? What was going to happen tomorrow?'

"Mom. I wish Dad wouldn't have made Lex leave." Feeling physically better, but not enough to start jumping up and down with glee, Clark let himself go totally limp letting his weary body rest.

"Honey, whatever is happening to you is serious. How could you hide something like that from us?" She had gotten a cold damp cloth and was lovingly wiping it over his hot face.

"I didn't. I told you. Over and over. And I just wanted to see what happened today before telling you again." Clark sighed gloomily.

"Martha, how is he?" His dad must have entered without him noticing. Feeling a flare of anger that he'd sent Lex away, Clark stared through a window ignoring him.

"I think he's delusional. He's not making a lot of sense." His mom started to stroke Clark hair.

"Son, can you tell me what's going on? Your mother told me that some strange woman was in your room this morning attacking you. And when I told her about your accident with the tractor, we both couldn't believe you'd keep secrets like that from us."

Clark remained silent.

Frowning, his dad spoke in a pleading voice, "I've never known you to get sick to your stomach like this before, what are you not telling us? Please, Son. We want to help you."

"There isn't anything you can do. That woman doesn't mean me any harm. If anything, I'm the one who has bothered her more." With a bit of effort, Clark sat up. `How am I going to be able to get them off my back?' Looking from one concerned face to another, Clark decided to go with his `I'll tell you everything later' speech, before faking another bout of nausea and pretending to dry heave on the couch. His parents agreed he should take it easy and once he was feeling better they'd continue with their fun discussion.

Unfortunately, his stomach disagreed with his lies and began another flare up for real a few minutes later.

After stumbling upstairs and cleaning up a little, Clark was grateful to finally be able to lie down in his bed and rest. Clark didn't remember going to bed before suppertime in his life, but hey there was a first for everything: a first rescue, a first car, a first party, a first dance, a first wedding, a first kiss, a first funeral, a first love, a first rebellion, a first escape, and a first lover.

Later that evening his mom tried to bring him some chicken soup, but the smell made his body quickly say `no.'

Watching as the sun set, he gloomily mulled over the past weeks events. Moaning into his bed and thinking about everything at once, Clarks' thoughts were in chaos as he tried to concentrate on what were the most important aspects of this Friday.

So much had happened to him. He'd gotten closer to everyone he cared about and he'd pushed them away just as hard. He'd let his anger and anxiety get the best of him and had lashed out in ways he'd never thought possible. He'd done brainless and stupid acts to amuse himself, and he'd deeply connected with the one person he'd never thought possible to go that far with.

When Saturday finally came, Clark didn't know what he was going to do.

Day Fourteen

Hungrily kissing his lovers mouth, Clark loudly reveled in the sensation of their bodies gliding against each other with only a thin layer of sprinkling water separating them from total contact. Lex gladly joined in with his celebration shouting out Clark's name. Holding Lex up against the ceramic wall, Clark pounded into his willing body thinking about how this was the only way he should have a shower from now on. Fucking Lex senseless. Opening his eyes as he was about to come, Clark was mystified as he watched Lex's face and neck become discolored. First little brownish dots marred his beautiful skin, and then Lex was completely saturated by the contaminated water that was suddenly coming out of the shower head. Lex began to hiss in discomfort as the chemicals burned his skin. Clark roughly pulled out of Lex in desperation to turn the water off. They were trapped; the door and knobs had disappeared. `Noooo!' Fervently grabbing the shower head, Clark ripped it out of the wall causing an overwhelming flood of purple water to gush onto their exposed bodies as Lex's howls of pain grew louder and louder.

Clark woke up in a cold sweat with his stomach still dully rolling along. `Must still be Friday.' Sadly, he'd now gotten used to constantly feeling sick. Yesterday, his mom had mentioned that what he felt could be similar to what it was like to have the stomach flu. He vowed never to want to be normal again. Normal meant the chance of getting stomach flu, chicken pocks, broken bones, appendicitis, or any other ailments he'd heard from friends and acquaintances as being too horrible to bear.

Fumbling to turn off the alarm, Clark grunted at what felt like an overexertion of energy. Maybe his parents would remember that he wasn't feeling well and his mom wouldn't bother him by asking whether he was going to school or not. Maybe his dad would remember how fruitless it would be to change the tractor tire and go smoke some good weed instead. Maybe Chloe and Pete would say to hell with school and go elope in Vegas. Maybe Lana would declare that she was forever going to give up men and would be joining a nunnery. Maybe Lionel would hang himself because he just couldn't take this cruel world anymore. Maybe Lex would come over today and play kids games with him while confessing his undying love for him. Maybe Clark's body would explode and end his suffering.

Lex hadn't remembered. Sure, he'd called and asked about him, saying he had a weird feeling that there was something wrong with Clark, but Lex hadn't remembered what Clark had actually said to him. Clark had told Lex on the phone not to worry and that he'd visit him on Saturday. `Saturday, what a laugh.' And what was with that fucked up dream he'd just had about Lex? Clark felt really guilty about not seeing Lex yesterday. He'd wanted to, but had opted out of asking because he'd let his pride get in the way. Lex seeing him that pathetic wasn't something Clark was looking forward to. At the Talon, two days ago, he didn't have a choice, but damn it, pathetic or not, Clark really wanted to see Lex today. And, at some point, he might actually call Lex and invite him over.

Pete and Chloe had come over to visit Clark last evening just bug him, and once they saw how sick he really was they'd been quite nice. Overall, it hadn't gone too badly. But he wasn't in love with Pete or Chloe.

Running his hand through wet hair, Clark moaned at how gross he felt. A bath sounded like less of an effort then having to stand up in a shower, but getting up out of bed was still too much of an exertion at the moment. `Shower? That dream really had some freaky shit in it.'

"Clark, are you feeling okay?" His mom stood somewhere on the other side of his door.

Trying to sound normal he answered, "Why?" Clark was interested to know what she would remember on her own without him purposely trying to coax any memories out of her.

"I seem to remember you're not feeling well. It's strange really." Her voice sounded closer.

Clark laughed weakly, "Strange as the cows getting into a conga line and doing the full Monty dance?"

Yesterday's dj vu occurrences were more prominent than the day before, but not enough to cause world wide panic or anything that severe. The little things just kept getting marginally bigger, and more memories were being retained. But the more people remembered, the crappier Clark felt. At times it felt like he was dying, which from Clark's point of view, most likely meant that Elizabeth was in danger of perishing under her own free will. She was practically killing herself. From that, he'd come to the conclusion that as Elizabeth got weaker her powers were beginning to flounder, and consequently everyone's memories were being affected less by her as well.

Friday couldn't possible last much longer.

His mom came into his room to check his for dirty laundry. Glancing at Clark, she was stared at him in shock. `I must look as bad as I feel.'

Quickly moving to sit on the side of the bed, his mom whispered, "Oh my, it wasn't a dream. A woman was here... and she hurt you?"

"Yes and no." Clark rolled onto his side to give her more room. "But, it's such a loooong story, and I'm really not feeling very good. Can I tell you later?"

His mom appeared distressed at his condition, but gave a slight nod. Giving him a tender hug, she asked, "Can I get you anything?"

"Yes please, I wanna sleep for a bit more. And, I might need a bucket nearby just in case."

"A bucket?" Comprehension dawned on her face as his mom left the room and bought back a clean blanket and a small trash can that usually sat in the bathroom, a few minutes later. "I'll bring you something to eat around lunch time."

"Thanks, Mom."

Clark doubted that he'd be able to keep anything down today, but, for his mom, he'd at least try to eat whatever she gave him. Making himself comfortable, he soon dozed back into a fitful sleep.

Waking up a few hours later to a literally gut wrenching experience, and Clark was quite glad that he'd remembered to ask his mom for a bucket this time. Yesterday, he'd been a little less fortunate. Gathering enough strength to go to the bathroom was yet another chore, but his bladder demanded attention. Unfortunately, once there, both ends of his body fought on which would get to use the toilet first. His bladder lost. `God, is this what morning sickness feels like?' Sadly, laughing at that idea, Clark stayed sitting on the floor on his knees with his head almost in the toilet for a good ten minutes.

Shivering in a cold sweat, he decided to run himself a hot bath hoping that it'd temporarily help him feel better. It almost did. At least he felt cleaner anyway.

Making his way slowly downstairs on his own, Clark could hear his mom talking on the phone in the living room, "He's still resting, but later, if Clark's feeling up to it, I'm sure he'll call you. It was very nice of you to phone. I hope you guys have a good day as well. Bye."

Once he was within normal hearing distance, Clark asked, "Who was that?"

His mom looked surprised to see him, "Pete and Chloe. They wanted to make sure you were feeling okay. They told me that they both remembered visiting you yesterday when you hadn't shown up for school."

"Yeah, they did." Clark was having problems standing up. "Did anyone else call?"

"Lana did a while ago, and Lex. But I told them that you were sleeping and that it would be best if they didn't come over and bother you." His mom appeared unhappy at having to send his friends away.

"Oh." His parents most likely didn't want anyone to come over and see how bad he was. If any of his friends saw him they'd question his parent's sanity at not taking Clark to a doctor. And seeing any doctor was definitely out of the question. `Secrets and lies.' Sometimes, Clark thought that his family was almost as bad as the Luthor's when it came to deception.

"Clark, Sweetie, why don't you stay downstairs for a while on the couch, I've made up a nice bed for you there. You can watch TV or read if you want to, or if you really want to you can go back to bed upstairs. Where ever you will be most comfortable. But, I was just making you some lunch as well, and it seems like a shame to go back up when lunch is almost ready." It was pretty sweet how motherly she was being towards him. `I wonder if she ever missed doing that in the past?' Being a perfectly healthy growing boy all those years might have made up for all the problems his special abilities would have caused, but it might have also denied his mom some of those motherly moments when she could feed him chicken soup and spend quiet time alone when he couldn't be expected to go to school or help his father with the farm.

The couch sounded great. Going back upstairs felt like way too much work. The guardrail had a few more fingers sized dents in it than before from the trip down, mostly because Clark had been gripping them too tightly to keep from falling. Falling down the stairs probably wouldn't have hurt him, despite how bad he already felt, but it would have scared his mom to death. "I think I'd like to stay down here."

Mentally exhausted, he took the bowl of offered tomato soup. Clark tried to eat it while lying down on the couch, turned, make shift bed. A half an hour went by and Clark gave up after he'd only succeeded in eating a dozen or so small spoonfuls. His mom then brought him some grape Jell-O. `Irony can be funny.' The cool purple substance seemed to soothe his stomach a bit as he was able to eat all of it pretty fast. A few minutes later, his dad came inside to check up on him after doing a few outdoor chores. Clark wondered whether his dad had bothered to change the tire or not, but didn't care enough to ask.

Beginning to get extremely bored, Clark heard the afternoon news played in the background, and was mildly surprised at its differences.

"The earthquake early this morning measured as high as 8 on the Rictor scale, killing as many as 3,000 people in the area of southern Russia, Northern China and Japan.

In a related story, there have been a startling number of people phoning in to this station and many others, claiming that this earthquake already happened yesterday and that we are reporting it a day late. I have been told that it did in fact happen early this morning and not the day before. We are uncertain were these false accusations are coming from.

Strangely enough this station has also had a high number of prank phone calls today concerning individuals believing that they have been abducted by aliens or have been given the gift of sight. And for this reason the station's automated answering system will be shut down until further notice."

`Wow, people thought that their memories were being altered by aliens? How sad.' Clark grinned as he watched his mom and dad talk quietly to each other outside as they began to walk away from the house. They were slowly putting most of their memory pieces together, like a giant jigsaw puzzle, by themselves, which was quite new for a change. Everyone seemed to be having the same problem as well, only his parents and other experienced vets in Smallville would be more inclined to go hummm? then aaaaah! like most everyone else seemed to be doing.

Was it possible to get so sick that you felt giddy? His mom had the flu one time so bad that she been talking like she'd been drugged. All sweaty, stuffed up and moaning. She'd said and done some of the oddest things. Then again his mom has taken lots of DayQuil...

Crap, he was really freakin bored.

Staring at the room that he'd already memorized every single inch of, Clark gritted his teeth. `What to do, what to do.' Using his x-ray vision he found an old stash of board games hidden in one of the living room chests. `Risk,' `Monopoly,' `The Game of Life,' `Trouble,' `Snakes and Ladders,' `Clue' and `Scrabble' all seemed to be saying to him, `Play with me!!!' Wow, he was seriously delusional as well as bored.

That was when the phone decided to ring. And ring and ring and ring. His parents didn't seem to hear the damn thing. `Maybe they went into the barn for some quick nookie?' Snorting out loud, Clark struggled off of his bed-couch, and was able to make it to the telephone just as it stopped ringing. Staring at it in horror, Clark wanted to curse whoever had the audacity to hang up at the same time he'd picked up. Hearing a click and then a dull nothingness in his ear made him quite cranky. Wanting to know who had just called, and angry at whoever it was for making him get up, which was a really big accomplishment, for nothing, Clark pressed the star button followed by a six and nine.

"We're sorry; the last number called on your line is not available at this time."

That's great, a waste of time and money. Clark rolled his eyes. `Not available? So, the operator is being lazy?' Putting the phone back onto the receiver, Clark held his stomach as he went to get himself a glass of water.

`Not available?' Wait, wouldn't that mean that it was a blocked or an unlisted phone number? The only person he knew, who'd have their phone number blocked from call display, was Lex. Lex, of course. Excitedly, he rushed back to phone momentarily forgetting about his nausea.

Picking the phone back up, Clark stared at it, afraid to dial the seven numbers that would let him hear Lex's suave voice again. It'd been a whole day; he'd lasted one long crappy day, survived the infinite feeling of 24 hours of no Lex. Why the hell should he go through that again?

It was time to stop being a coward, and be a man. A man who could phone his friend and ask him to come over and play the `Game of Life' with him, because he was bored and lonely and wanted Lex's company more than any one else's. And, gee, that didn't sound pathetic or needy whatsoever.

Clark didn't even realize he'd actually dialed the number as he put the phone to his ear when he was suddenly hearing a voice say: "Lex Luthor."

Clark was barely able to stutter out a lame, "Hi?"

"Clark? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." Clark's voice was raspy, even to him.

Lex's sensual baritone asked, "How are you? Martha said you weren't feeling well."

"I think I have the stomach flu. That or my stomach has decided to wage a civil war against the rest of my internal organs in its quest to become its own sovereign nation." Clark joked, trying to sound better than he felt.

"Very ingenious of it. By your past eating habits, I'd already come to the conclusion that your stomach was leading a highly successful dictatorship." Lex seemed so nice and caring, but way too far away. Clark needed more.

"Well, it's more like a revolution now." Clark laughed weakly.

"Is there any-"

"Would you mind coming over?" Cutting off the question that was most likely to be an offer of help, Clark continued with, "I can't leave the house. And my parents are tippy-toeing around me like I'm going to break. I think they're just not used to me being sick. I'd love for you to help get my mind off of how crappy I feel."

"Of course. I'll be right over." Lex sounded pleased.

"Great!" `Thank you, thank you thank you.'

Ending the call quickly, as his parents came back inside the house; Clark tried to get back to the couch as fast as he could. Being able to only move as fast as a human sick person had its many drawbacks. He was less then halfway there when his dad asked, "Clark, what are you doing up? You should be resting."

"The phone rang." Sitting down, Clark couldn't believe how happy he was feeling at that moment. There was now the small task of explaining the impending Luthor visitation, so Clark decided to just come right out with it, "I asked Lex to come over."

His dad looked genuinely baffled, "Why did you do that?"

"Why not? I want to see my best friend. You do remember that he brought me home recently from the Talon when I was sick, don't you? Because that's what good friend's do." Clark wasn't absolutely sure his dad recalled that or not, but he was now going to find out.

"I- maybe." Glancing at his mom, his parents did their psychic mind meld thing, before his dad continued with, "He can stay here as long as you're feeling up to company, but if you get any worse I'm going to have to ask him to leave."

Clark frowned, "I'm not agreeing to that." His parents shocked looks weren't unexpected. Closing his eyes as the room shifted and unnaturally spun a bit, Clark said, "I know why you feel that way, but I think I'm old enough to make that decision for myself. And, if I fall unconscious to the floor while Lex is here, I want him to stay." It felt so good to say that.

Now it was his mom's turn to annoy him, "But... Why, honey? You don't know what he'd do in a situation like that."

"I have my reasons. Please, just leave it at that." The thing was he did know. Lex would be able to take better care of him than his parents, plus when he woke up, Clark needed Lex to be there telling him that everything was going to be alright. Because, if Lex said that, then it had to be true.

His parents sat down at the table for a bit and talked to each other, while Clark tried to conserve as much energy as possible. He'd go insane if the rest of this monotonous day didn't get any better. As soon as Lex walked through the main door, Clark would be one cheerful sick person, instead of a big old grumpy one.

Clark groaned, trying hard to concentrate as his body continued to be a nuisance; he tapped his fingers on the wooden table in front of him as he watched the little evil wheel rotate to another perfect number. It wasn't fair, life just wasn't fair. He'd ridden the ups and downs, and turned left instead of right, along that dumb symbolic road filled with fake happy people. Sure, maybe going to college first hadn't been the best idea, but here Clark was alone, almost penniless and behind his nemesis who had a white car full of people which was currently landing on `Millionaire Estates.' `Did Lex have a lucky silver spoon shoved up his ass?'

Grumbling again, Clark looked at his friend with mock irritation before spinning the little wheel. It landed on the ten. `Score!' Even though he'd already technically lost, Clark let out a little whoop of glee as he'd hit the magical number that enabled his little blue man in his little red car to move to his final place of retirement. It was the quaint yet peaceful `Countryside Acres.' Poor guy would be living the rest of his life as a hermit, but at least Clark hadn't killed him by accident like the first time they'd played.

"Do you want to play again?" Lex smirked.

Pouting, Clark tried to hide an extra queasy body shake, before replying, "Not really. Failing twice to make it to the biggest and bestest house with the most money was enough."

It was nice to share a quick laugh together.

Lex's eyes were full of merriment when he asked, "What do you want to play next?"

"Something that requires the least amount of brain power as possible? An age requirement of 3 should be good." Clark grinned.

Watching Lex sift through the pile of games next to them was sweet, but having a pounding headache, not so much.

They were currently camped out in the living room, and Clark's parents had more or less let them have their privacy. Whenever his mom did show up to ask whether he wanted anything, she was always polite enough to ask Lex as well. His dad had quietly supervised them for the first hour by pretending to read a newspaper, which never left the entertainment section, before he'd felt comfortable enough to go back outside. His poor dad had looked shocked at how much fun Lex and Clark were having, and Clark had snuck in a random joke or two that made Lex chuckle, at his dad's expense. `Quite entertaining indeed.'

It was now late afternoon, and Clark still loathed talking with Lex about any retained memories his friend might have. How could he bring something like that up? `Hey Lex, do you remember blowing me off in your hallway? Or, wow Lex, do you recall how I destroyed your bed after you screwed me from behind? Hell, Lex, sex with you was the best, and as soon as I feel up to it let's do it again.' They would be brilliant discussion topics that would most likely end with Lex getting infuriated, maybe even swearing a bit at Clark, before leaving. No, playing board games was much safer.

Playing `The Game of Life' with Lex had been much more entertaining than Clark had first anticipated, and the fact that Lex had so easily gone along with the idea of playing a board game at all made Clark extra giggly. Too bad Clark couldn't blame it on the DayQuil. It had been years since Clark had played with any of these games; heck, it had been years before he'd first met Lex, since that last time he'd ever played...

"Snakes and Ladders? Have you ever played that game before in your life?" Clark laughed as Lex opened the box and laid the board out in front of them on a table within arms reach from Clark's wonderful bed-couch.

"As a matter of fact yes. With my dad when I was three. But, he wasn't playing with me, he was teaching me a lesson about morals." Pointing at a couple of old buttons, Lex asked, "Which one do you want?"

Clark pointed at the big shiny red one. Taking a white one for himself, Lex placed the two buttons on the first square on the brightly colored board.

"How can `Snakes and Ladders' teach a child about morals?" Clark still marveled at how Lionel's parenting skills seemed to utterly lack anything close to love or affection.

Lex fingered the dice for a moment in thought before answering, "Its origins date back to the 2nd Century BC. It was played in India, and was called Moksha-patamu. It was originally a board game used by religious leaders to teach children about the difference between good and evil. Climbing up the ladders representing good, and sliding down the snakes representing evil. During England's colonial expansion, the western world discovered the game and adopted it, and in the late 1890's the religious and moral aspects were removed and it was sold as a children's racing board game."

Clark stared at his friend amazed, "Wow, how can you remember so much?"

"Just one of my uncanny talents. Regrettably, being a genius has its drawbacks as well." Lex rolled himself a two before passing the die to Clark who rolled a five.

Clark knew what that meant. Children didn't like other kids that were different. That's one of the reasons why Clark's parents had drilled into him, at such a young age, to hide his speed and strength from everyone. On the other hand, Lex couldn't hide his imperfections, especially after the age of seven, and Lionel would most likely try to bully Lex out of his so called weaknesses. At school, Lex would have stood out like a sore thumb in front of the other students. Lex came from an unpopular wealthy family. He had red hair, bad asthma and was too smart for his own good. Then later, Lex had no hair at all. `This is getting way too depressing.'

"I go first." Rolling another five, Clark moved the button slowly with his finger, and he stopped it at a tail of a snake. `Oh, yeah it's so evil.'

After a couple of turns, Clark was still ahead by a two whole squares. It quickly became fun again. Being sick wasn't going to stop Clark from doing a little bit of casual flirting. And, getting some damn sexy looks back at him made Clark all the happier. At one point, Clark had purposely slid up a small ladder with the finesse and gracefulness of a male gazelle in heat, which meant Clark had almost poked a hole through the board.

When Lex asked, "Do you need help? I can move it for you if you want?"

Clark's mouth gapped open like a plucked chicken. Trying to sound cool and edgy Clark tried to smirk as he said, "Only if you what to." Thinking about it, Clark thought that Lex doing all the work wouldn't be nearly as much fun so he reiterated, "But, I like leaning over and stretching my arm as well, good exercise."

Lex had done that wonderful eye-brow raising thing before he made his next move, a roll of two meant he wouldn't be catching up to Clark any time soon. And it just kept getting fun and funner.

Rolling a three, Clark moaned and bit his lip lightly when he saw that he'd be sliding down one long snake. Just his luck to land on the biggest one on the board. Reaching out to move his red button, Clark clenched his hand into a fist as a blast of pain shot up his spine. `Fuck, that hurt.' Still seeing stars, after opening eyes thst he didn't realize he'd closed, Clark had to lean back and lay his head on his pillow. He hoped that this episode would pass sooner rather than later.

"Clark? Is there anything I can get you? An aspirin might help with some of the pain. You look like you have a fever."

Clark opened his eyes again to see Lex hovering over him. `God, his blue eyes are so hot. Kiss me.' Not being able to help himself, Clark decided to be a naughty sick person, "Oh?" Pretending to clear his throat, Clark made a noise before saying, "Maybe you should touch me and find out."

Shivering as a cool feeling hand lightly rested on his cheek before feathering up to his forehead, Clark had to swallow a few times to keep his Jell-O down. And, the feeling was steadily getting worse not better. This was impossible. His dick had lost the war against his body over two days ago, why wouldn't it just admit defeat and leave him alone?

A deeply concerned voice brought him back to reality, "You're burning up."

Feeling dazed, Clark muttered, "You should have let me win the mansion, I want my own mansion. I would have shared it with you. No, wait, we can have our own mansion together, and then we could have lots of fun. Race little cars together and put people in them. We'd be winners."

"Try to relax, I'll be right back."

Clark closed his eyes again; they felt so dry. It was like there was sand in his eye sockets rubbing against them whenever he moved his eyes. His mouth was just as parched, but he didn't trust putting anything in it, it all just came right back out anyway.

"Here, take this."

A small round thing was placed into Clark's hand, and he obediently put it into his mouth. Lex then put a glass of water to Clark's lips, but he could only take a small sip. `That's what aspirin tastes like? Kinda chalky.' "Thanks."

"If it doesn't help- I really think you should see a doctor."

Clark opened his eyes to gaze at Lex's plush lips. Reaching out, he touched the small scar that would have perfectly split Lex's top lip in half. `When did Lex get it? How much did it hurt and bleed? And, did I just say some of that out loud right in front of Lex?'

Lex stared at him with a lost and far away look on his face, "Scars remind us that the past was real... I should leave. You need to get some rest."

Terrified, Clark felt a small surge of strength come back, "No! Stay. You have to stay." Clark feebly grabbed onto Lex's arm, "You can't leave me. Please, I need you." He snuggled into Lex's arm as all of his power leeched away from him again.

Lex sat down on the floor in front of the couch. Now holding Clark's hand, Lex implored, "Please, tell me what's wrong with you. I know you're hiding something from me."

Clark whimpered not answering. `Oh, God... I can't, you'll know. You'll remember everything. I don't know if I could deal with it once my life is back to normal.' And what form of normal will that be he had no idea.

"Clark, what are you afraid of? Is someone hurting you?" The cool hand was back, massaging Clark's neck and shoulder.

Looking at his friend, Clark felt a stab of guilt seeing Lex's expression that held more fear for Clark than what Clark was feeling for himself. He wasn't being fair to Lex, and he had to say something, "I'm afraid of life. It feels like whatever path I choose, I'll end up loosing something important."

"Sorry, Clark. Choice just isn't something you can get out of. Admittedly, some people try to by avoiding making any decision- even locking themselves away and never leaving their homes. But, that's still a choice... and one of the worst ones possible. In trying to protect yourself from being hurt, you could miss out on most of what life has to offer. I know what it's like to be afraid of where your decisions may lead you." Lex looked wistful, before continuing, "If only we could see into our futures. Regrettably, we don't have that kind of technology yet, and if we did it would be extremely dangerous-"

Clark agreed with that statement. With too much power and knowledge, an individual could literally rule the world. Like Elizabeth currently was. He had the power as well, and in the near future so could Lex. They could rule the world together as Gods. Kal-El would like that a bit too much. Clark shuddered at that scary thought.

Frowning Lex asked, "Clark, I enjoy having discussions about various ideologies with you, but what does this have to do with your failing health?"

"You're right. I know what's causing it. But, I don't think that I'm in any mortal danger." That thought of actually dying, had been slipping into Clark's mind off and on over the last few days, but he was unwilling to let it become a real possibility. `No way am I going to die after putting up with all this bull-shit.'

"And I'm just supposed to believe that on what proof?"

Clark shook his head as his vision started playing tricks on him. Smiling, Clark was reminded of the psychotic `Dumbo' song and dance `Pink Elephants on Parade' as furniture and imaginary floating things started moving around the room... `Walt Disney was funny!' "I guess you just gotta have faith. Believe what is in your heart, and a bunch of other mushy stuff- Bucket!"

"Bucket?"

"Over there! I NEED IT RIGHT NOW!" If he hadn't been feeling so desperately ill, Clark would have laughed at how fast Lex moved his tight ass across the room and back. When Lex held out the desired item for Clark, he heaved back up the water and some white chunky stuff and maybe a bit of soup. Clark hoped it was soup, because puking up blood would have to be a very bad thing.

Taking the bucket away, Lex went in to the bathroom to flush the contents down the toilet. It was sweet to see how motherly Lex could be. There was still no way Lex would ever become a kept man, just like Clark never wanted to become one, but the idea of being future equals or even partners was now a highly appealing one.

Swiftly coming back into the living-room, Lex sounded almost angry when he asked, "Clark, how many times have you been sick today?"

`Today? Was he referring to the yesterday today and the day before that today, as well as the actual now today?' Clark had no idea about anything anymore. "I'm not sure. I lost count."

An unpleasantly long silence came from Lex's direction. Struggling to see what Lex was doing, Clark pushed himself up on a shaky arm, only to become more concerned after seeing Lex's analyzing expression. "I remember this."

"What do you remember Lex?" Clark wanted to know. `How far should I question him? Did I dare ask about our sexual liaisons at the mansion a few days ago?'

"I entered the Talon, and saw you lounging with your friends." Lex moved in a direction where Clark could see him better, "Chloe was telling me that time was being manipulated by a woman, and somehow the whole world was being affected." Lex appeared to be in discomfort while massaging his neck. Furrowing his brows together, Lex must have been concentrating on that memory further, "You seemed well enough to me at the time and then abruptly you were sick on the floor- I took you home."

"What else do you remember?"

Lex took a step closer to him, surveying Clark's condition. "You weren't making much sense, I thought you were delirious."

"I haven't been able to make sense of anything in quite some time. Verbally or in my head." Clark tried to make it sound like a joke, even though it was much closer to the truth than he would have liked.

"You sound perfectly comprehensible right now."

Clark laughed weakly, "This is one of my more lucid moments, and they don't last very long."

Lex pulled the damp blanket away from Clark's body, "You should get some sleep, I'll help you upstairs. I'm sure you'd be more comfortable in your own bed than down here."

"Whatever you say." Heaving a sigh of relief that the questioning seemed to be ending there, Clark was grateful for Lex's assistance off of the couch. It was starting to feel too confining for his large internally troubled body. Feeling and smelling Lex's wonderful body, Clark wanted to kiss and lick him all over. `Spinning room, spinning Lex, spinning Lex around the room. Why spin alone? They could spin together in the room, and on the floor and ooooooh legs not working so good.'

Clark moaned into Lex's ear as the spinning got worse. `Bed. Have to get to the bed.' Blindly following Lex's lead up the stairs, slower than a giant sloth, Clark vaguely heard some noise coming from the kitchen. His mom must have come back into the house and was most likely beginning to make supper, and the thought of food was not a good thought. Clark whispered to Lex that he didn't want to eat anything, the fact that he didn't want to smell food cooking was left unsaid. `It's wouldn't be fair to stop others from eating, people got hungry all the time and had to like eat stuff, being human and all they'd die if they didn't eat. Eating was good. Good food- No food was bad... Bad food. Very bad.'

"It's going to be okay Clark. We're almost there."

Being severely dehydrated didn't help matters either, but somehow Clark convinced Lex to stay with him in his room and not alert his parents to how unwell he was, then again he could have been hallucinating some of his conversation as well as the whirling rainbow of colors that followed Lex around Clark's room.

Clark was sure that he was muttering some pretty strange shit, and realizing how crazy he must sound he started to giggle. It was oddly funny. Clark could say anything he wanted to Lex, and later he could blame the sickness on it or just say he didn't know what his friend was talking about. Sobering up from those horrible thoughts of deceit, Clark looked into Lex's worried eyes as he was helped into his bed. These past two weeks Lex hadn't done a single thing to not deserve Clark's undying trust. And yet, Clark had easily thought about going back to his lying ways once everything was back to normal. `What kind of person did that make me?'

"Lex, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me." Lying mostly on one side of the twin bed, Clark offered, "Would you mind keeping me company for a while? It feels nice when you're touching me." Feeling a slight movement as Lex sat down on the bed, Clark smiled. No, he'd only tell Lex important stuff when it wouldn't be easy to lie about later. Then, he'd have to make sure that he meant every word of what he said to Lex. He was going to be a good friend for a change. Trust. Clark trusted Lex; he just didn't quite trust himself with Lex yet.

Clark snuggled pleasantly into the warmth of Lex's body. Soaking up the love for him coming from Lex, Clark tried to send his own feelings as best he could back towards Lex. In the comforting darkness, Clark finally let himself relax again.

At little while later, Clark was pleasantly surprised to hear Lex barely whisper to either Clark or himself, Clark didn't know, `I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.'

Filled with pure joy, Clark was finally able to go sleep.

Around midnight, when Clark's mom had come to change his drenched sheets, Lex had insisted on taking Clark's temperature. At that point, Clark had been feeling so hot that he had stubbornly kept throwing his clothes off. Only to amazingly wake up later to find that he had somehow acquired underwear and a t-shirt again. `No. Hot. Too hot.' Clark didn't know where Lex had gotten the thermometer from or where Lex had put it in him to get its readings. `It could have been in my ear?' But, when his friend saw its display announce a temperature of over 110 Fahrenheit, Lex went ballistic; roaring and pacing around the room like a caged tiger. It was magnificent to watch. Once Lex could think straight, he quickly called a medical emergency line to ask for help.

Clark was impressed that he was able to make himself to coherently form a couple of complete sentences, but fear can make miracles happen. Clark wailed, "No! You can't tell. They can't find out about me. I'll be in more danger from them than what I'm in now. Please, if you love me don't!"

It was so sad to see tears in his friend's eyes, and Clark wished that he could move to wipe the one that had escaped down the side of Lex's face, but he couldn't. As his body was racked with shivers, Clark could only think to himself, `At least I don't feel hot anymore.'

Lex brought him more blankets, before going in to the hallway to start bickering with Clark's parents. Clark had no idea how upsetting this must be for them, but he didn't want to hear the people he loved fighting with each other- no he wanted them close to him, hugging him and telling him how much they loved him.

The loud noises became duller to Clark's ears as he began to drift to sleep.

He was floating in a foggy haze between the realms of dreams and consciousness. It was nice to not feel his body, which for the first time felt more alien to him than he could ever have imagined. The nauseous feeling in his stomach was gone, and Clark felt reassured that he was no longer alone. Someone was watching out for him. Clark wanted to reach out and touch them. Touch the sky. But all good things come to an end.

"AAAAAAAARRRGH!!!"

Clark sat straight up in his bed screaming so loudly that it may have badly damaged the eardrums of anyone who was unfortunate enough to be too close to him.

Grabbing the sides of his head and squeezing hard, Clark thought that he should be passing out from the massive amount of pain that was stabbing into his brain. This was it, this was the end. He was going to die. God, he didn't want to die. But even someone as powerful as him could take only so much pain before-

There was an eerie snapping noise in his ears, and then all went silent as Clark fell into a deep unconsciousness.

Day Fifteen

It was raining. A slow light drizzle fell from the sky, washing the air clean as it dropped, to soak Clark's hair and clothes until he was almost dripping wet. It was time to start over, and it scared him. Amazed by the complex landscape, which literally changed terrain and colors every few feet, he didn't know where to go. Some of the places were familiar while others were not: Clark could see his house, Paris, the Milky Way, Smallville, vast empty fields, Metropolis, the Luthor Mansion, an arctic region, Gotham, a deserted wasteland, a green forest, and a foreign solar system. There were so many other imaginative locations that he almost couldn't comprehend how many there were. Each was a choice, and Clark knew that which ever way he decided to go the others might disappear, never to be an option for him again. Surrounded by so many choices, Clark made a slow 360 degree turn--afraid to move in any direction. It felt surreal. Finally, one of the more unknown areas, a darker, rougher path called out to him. Making his decision, Clark began to move.

Rolling over, Clark's body hit a slightly yielding resistance on his small bed. In his head, the dream-vision before him began to fade as Clark started to wake up. He didn't want to walk anymore. He didn't like being alone on that unknown path, with its intimidating twists and turns to unfamiliar places. It frightened him.

Moaning and still half asleep, Clark hugged what was next to him like it was a big o'teddy bear. He smiled, feeling so incredibly good. All tingly, warm, and full of positive energy, Clark continued to snuggle and rub his body against his fun new play thing. This was a haven from his last few days of suffering and Clark was loathe to come back to reality just yet, on the likelihood that he'd be falling over and puking his guts out again and again as soon as he got out of bed.

Then, the thing made a noise as Clark inhaled and recognized a very memorable scent. `Ooooooh nice.' Thinking that this was a different and much better dream, Clark began to kiss and nip at his fantasy Lex's neck. God, how he missed making out with Lex in his dreams. Now, if only this one didn't end with the walls bleeding or something just as horrific, this time, then maybe Clark could turn this into one great wet dream.

"You're finally awake. Thank God." Lex's voice whispered, before taking on a more husky quality, "I'm really glad you're feeling better."

With a loud yelp, Clark jumped off the bed as if it'd been laced with kryptonite and was across the other side of the room faster than a speeding bullet.

Staring at the vision on his bed, he couldn't comprehend the fact that Lex was still in his room now that it was morning. `Morning? Friday morning? Or, Saturday morning?' And wow, a freshly woken up Lex looked way too adorable, with his cute blinking half closed eyes. It didn't look like Lex had gotten very much sleep last night. `This had to be real.' Lex, who was lying across Clark's bed, dressed in his now wrinkled light blue shirt and black pants from yesterday, compared with him who was only wearing a blue pair of boxers that perfectly matched Lex's shirt, in his room staring back at him like Clark was insane. `It's Saturday.' Trying to decide how happy he should be reacting to that significant realization, Clark regrettably grasped the fact that he'd already made a few serious mistakes.

First off, this was real and he'd just blatantly used his super-speed right in front of Lex's face and lying would be seriously stupid, mean, and nasty. Also, from Lex's expression, which appeared slightly wounded, his friend must have taken Clark's mad dash as an apparent rejection of their recent, like 10 seconds ago, close personal touching. From past experiences, Lex tended to like Clark groping and fondling him. Before any celebrations, Clark had to fix those two problems and confirm his suspicions that this was indeed the fabled day of Saturday, before doing anything else.

Clark's observations slowed as his thoughts seemed to go into over-drive as he considered possible reactions- sorting through what the past Fridays had taught him about Lex, and rejecting any that didn't fit that knowledge. He knew that Lex cared about him, and even when he was hurt or angry, Lex responded to Clark's distress by trying to take care of him. He also knew that Lex could always tell when he was lying. Finally, as Lex completed his first blink, Clark came up with a reaction- designed to hit on both points.

"Lex. You stayed with me for the whole night?" Clark asked the obvious, pausing as he tried to remember the details of every pleasantly erotic Friday dream that he'd had up until this morning's wake up call. Waiting a hairs breadth as he felt the blush he'd been hoping for color his skin, he gestured to the covers where he'd been laying moments before and continued in a low murmur, "I- uh- I-I've been...sort of... dreaming about you. And, I thought that this time you were a part of a dream."

`Gotcha.' Lex's eyebrow had risen in an intrigued arch as he asked, "Not a nightmare I take it?"

Lex's sensual voice that brought a true blush to Clark's cheeks; and he almost grinned, but quickly turned his face away before his friend could see it. He wasn't done, yet. Remembering the hurt that he'd felt when Lex had rejected his advances a few days ago, Clark let it's echoed pain course through him for several seconds. `Strange, how much that hurt me, and he may never remember that it even happened.'

Finally, when he heard Lex shift in the bed, Clark answered in his best attempt at a solemn uncertain tone, "No, this time it was something else... kinda one of those weird dreams that's supposed to be your sub-conscious being all symbolic. I think you've been influencing me a lot lately."

"Have I?" Lex appeared bemused.

"Did I ...do anything... that-" Clark let himself struggle with the question and with the thought. What would Saturday's Lex want, after seeing Clark so pathetic and sick? Did it turn him off, it hadn't before, but... before he hadn't been as grossly sick as he had last night, and there was the morning breath and need of a shower factor as well. "-that bothered you? If I did, I'm sorry."

"Indeed?" Swinging his legs around to the floor, Lex stood up, seriously asking, "Are you truly sorry that you've bothered me?"

`Shit, I did do something. Something wrong that bothered Lex. But what?' Clark tried to remember exactly what he'd been doing as he first woke up. Oh yeah, he'd been humping something. He'd been happily enjoying grinding his morning erection into the comfy resistance on his bed, when Lex's voice had shockingly jarred him back to reality. `Oh God.' Lex was the resistance, and Clark could have been unknowingly forcing himself on his friend. "Oh, my God. Lex. I'm sorry. I'm sooo sorry."

Slumping against the wall, Clark sank to the floor, and threw back his head hitting the wall lightly as he did. Of course, it didn't hurt in the slightest. It's funny really how you take so many things in life for granted, and it's true you really get a chance to fully appreciate the things you had only after their gone. To move and breathe again without having the constant feeling of queasiness was bliss. He had his health back, his wonderful indestructible body and still couldn't start off the day without doing something incredibly stupid. `Damn it. Saturday wasn't supposed to be like this. I've ruined everything.' Clark barely realized that he'd been repetitively hitting the wall with his head, until Lex put his hand between Clark's head and the wall.

"Hey, hey... there. Stop that. Clark. Stop, I was only teasing you ... you haven't ruined anything. Shhh. It's okay." Lex's voice was warm and caring as he gently wiped away tears that Clark didn't know were there. Lex smiled, "Here, let me help you back into bed."

"No. Please, sit." Gently cupping his hand on Lex's elbow, Clark pulled Lex down beside him as gently as he could, now comfortably holding Lex hand, Clark said, "I really need to tell you some important stuff. First, though, I need to know, what day is it?"

Lex watching him anxiously while he answered, "Saturday the 29th of May, 2004."

Clark nodded, "Good. I thought so. But, I just needed to hear it to be sure." With that reassurance, his main concern was put to rest, Clark continued, "I know that you're remembering things that feel like they've happened over the last few days for you but on the same day, Friday, and, you may have been wondering whether it's real or not. I've been having that problem myself." Clark grinned. "I'm not sure what you remember, but I have to let you know that all of it is probably something that really happened." Clark stared closely at Lex as he continued to hold Lex's right hand.

Lex peered back at him warily. "Yes, I seem to recall some rather astonishing events. How many days did Friday repeat?"

Clark tried for a happier appearance. This was where he would have to make his quick decision on where his and Lex's relationship was going to go. Did he want them to become closer or stay the same? Both options could easily lead them down a wrong path and into the realm of bitterness. Smiling, Clark replied, "From your point of view, Friday looped at least three times. For me, it was about two weeks."

"How much of those two weeks do you remember?" Lex appeared surprised at the time differences.

"All of it." Clark slumped into Lex, "And you wouldn't believe what happened. Hell, I still don't believe all that's happened. Even though, I was the one who caused all of my own problems, the day repeating just gave me the opportunity to drastically screw up more."

"Try to relax, I doubt you did anything wrong on purpose. What happened, Clark?"

`But, that didn't matter in the end? It was still my fault.' Hugging Lex, Clark was afraid to tell him more, even though he'd done so before so many times. This time was different. This was the real Lex, not like the other Lex hadn't been, but it hadn't felt like those conversations were real before when Clark had known that he'd have to do it all over again. Clark felt like he was in a movie, playing a role and speaking memorized lines, and it wasn't until he saw blood or tears that Clark was brought back to the harsh reality that it was all very much real.

Looking into Lex's deep blue eyes full of trust, Clark decided to tell Lex what he felt were the last two weeks most important points, even if they revealed things about him that made Clark seem less human, "After it became apparent that I was re-living the same day, I tried to research what was going on, but after a few days of finding out nothing, I wanted to have a break. So, I asked you to take me to Metropolis so I could have some fun and enjoy your company. And- and you were murdered. Your- Lionel shot you. I left the room because you and your dad were fighting about me. I should have stayed and saved you. But, I didn't... I failed you when you needed me, and I'm so sorry. And, you wouldn't have even been in Metropolis if it weren't for me."

Lex hugged him closer, "Clark, whatever happened, I'm sure you tried your best. But, it's okay, I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"The next day, I totally freaked out. I... destroyed Smallville High School. Everyone was screaming and they all hated me. I wanted to die. You helped me so much. I can never thank you enough." Clark kissed the side of Lex's cheek. "I found out about that room you have in the mansion that's dedicated to, well mostly, me. I was upset, but I'm okay with it now. I still think it's too dangerous for me, Lex. Pleas, I would like for you to get rid of that stuff. Lionel knows about it. He was the one who'd told me that it was there." Clark shuddered, "Whatever you want from me you can have. I trust you and I'm not afraid anymore."

Lex stared back at Clark with a bit of fear mixed in with absolute awe. `Maybe, it was Lex's time to wonder whether he was dreaming or not?' Clark had just handed him everything he ever wanted from Clark, and it was so much more than Lex could ever have hoped for.

Clark grinned purely happy again. This was right. It was time to tell Lex the rest: "I got to discover things about myself I never knew existed. I fell out and in love. I found out about my own immortality when I ran into someone who was stronger than me, and lost. I actually died. And, all I wanted was you. I didn't know for certain, but I'm sure you were there when that happened. Do you remember it?"

Lex shook his head "no", denying the possibility that Clark could have died. Looking deeply invested with the answer, Lex asked in a tight voice, "Who did that to you?" As he spoke, the venom in his friend's eyes was directed at whatever unknown foe had killed Clark.

"She- she's in Metropolis, I think something may have happened to her last night." Clark frowned, how could he have forgotten about Elizabeth? Was she still alive? "Elizabeth showed both of us our futures. We were enemies. You were trying to kill me." Clark felt sad again as he saw in his head the older Lex's vengeful stance on a high up roof-top somewhere yelling at him. Lex had been wearing a kryptonite ring, so Clark couldn't get close to him. He'd been holding a weapon at Clark and then Lex said something... it was, Clark spoke the strange words as he remembered them, "Quod incepimus conficiemus. What does that mean?"

"What we have begun we shall finish." Lex tried to pull away from Clark's embrace, "Clark, I think we should get off the floor. Your parents need to know that you're alright. They were extremely worried about you last night. We all were."

`No, Lex you're trying to run away, again, and distance yourself from what I'm saying.' Clark held him gently but insistently as he tried to stand. `Absolutely not, I'm not finished with you yet.' As Clark's bare chest rubbed against Lex's shirt, Clark replied passionately, "I believe we can change our futures. I believe I've already have changed mine. I've chosen to be with you, no matter what. I think we can be great together like you always wanted us to be."

The fear was still in Lex's eyes as he inquired, "Do you even know what you are saying?"

"Yes." Clark stubbornly refused to let Lex go, "I haven't finished telling you everything yet. The day after I died, I decided that I couldn't go through that again. I needed to enjoy life, because I was afraid that the next time I saw Elizabeth I would stay dead. I had to find a way to defeat her, because everyone I love needed me to do that for them. But, it still scared me, and having one good day -just for me- didn't seem like it was too much to hope for."

The blood drained from Lex's face making him even paler, and he murmured, "You thought you would die? I didn't know."

Clark smiled reassuringly as he nodded. "It's okay, things got off to a rocky start, but they worked out alright for us. I wanted to have a happy day. Be wild and carefree, for a change, while still being me. I conned Pete and Chloe into helping me pull some harmless school pranks, but things went very wrong and a bunch of people got terribly hurt. That was so stupid and selfish of me to not think about how my actions could affect everyone." Clark sighed, "I decided not to let it bother me and I needed to see you so much. I wanted to be with you. So, I thought it would be nice to get you a gift-"

With an evil smirk, Lex cut Clark off, "Some gift, who in their right mind would buy me a regular T-shirt? Everyone knows that I don't wear T-shirts. Too blue collar. Then again we stalkers need to stick together. Maybe I should buy it for you, and have you wear it."

Clark gasped, astounded at how not angry Lex looked. Lex's idle threat was so flamboyantly flirtatious Lex should have been wearing purple not blue. Bright purple, Bright Electric Purple. Clark gleefully rolled his eyes, wanting to either kiss or slap his friend's smirk off his face. His friend appeared way too smug, and no longer so upset which should have been a good thing, but-

Lex kissed him. It wasn't too deep or overly sexual, maybe because of the morning breath problems. It was just perfect. Wrapping his arms around Lex's neck, Clark moaned not wanting to pull away, ever.

"Clark, is that you? Oh!" The door next to them opened to reveal one shocked mom. Putting her hand to her mouth as Lex tried to desperately pull away from Clark for the third time, his mom said, "I heard voices, and wanted to see it you were feeling better. I- I..." Composing herself, his mom asked, "Do you feel like eating anything, Clark?"

"I'm starving. I'm sure Lex's hungry as well." Clark grinned widely, comfortably holding Lex's now still form like they'd been boyfriends forever.

"Well, I'll go start breakfast, and I'll tell your father that you're feeling much better." She smiled, still looking a bit confused as she turned to go back downstairs.

"You're evil."

"That's why you love me. Me and my evil ways. You know I'm gonna absolutely corrupt you one of these days." Clark snuggled further into Lex's body.

Sighing, Lex ran his fingers through Clark's hair. "Amicitiae nostrae memoriam spero sempiternam fore."

Lex loved his Latin a little too much. Licking at Lex's ear, Clark purred, "Lex, what does that mean?"

"The translation is: I hope that the memory of our friendship will be everlasting."

"Oh. I like it." Clark gave a super-grin at such a sweet comment about them. In his warped way, Lex was saying that he wanted to be with Clark forever.

"And you smell, bad." Lex didn't even flinch as Clark gave him a sight punch. On a much more serious note, Lex knit his brow as he said, "Clark, I thought you were dying last night. You nearly gave me a heart attack. The number of times you were sick last night and the amount of sweating you did. By all rights, you should be too dehydrated to move without discomfort. No one gets better that fast."

"Well, you know that I'm not just anyone. I'm Clark Kent, I'm too magical to stay sick or die. And, since I stink, I'm going to go have a shower." Finally, getting off his bedroom floor, Clark chuckled at how intensely Lex was staring at the erection that was trying it's hardest to tear a hole through Clark's thin blue boxers as Clark moved toward the bathroom. Calling over his shoulder, Clark asked, "Lex, how much do you remember about the day that I got you that T-shirt?"

A sweeping hand across his ass and a hot mouth next to Clark's ear answered, "Enough. I'm going to go help Martha with breakfast. I hope you have a really fun shower by yourself. I know how much you like them cold." Then his friend's presence behind him was gone, and Clark turned to see Lex walking down the hall towards the stairs. `Big huge tease. Lex knows exactly what I'm going to have to do in the shower now, all by myself.' Grumbling, Clark went to do some serious scrubbing, because he really did reek, and some hard and fast self-loving.

After a very lengthy shower, Clark brushed his teeth, drank three large glassfuls of water, got dressed, did the hokey-pokey and turned himself around in front of the bathroom mirror, before finally going downstairs to the wonderful smell of food. Lots and lots of glorious food. And, sitting at the table talking amongst themselves were his mom and dad and Lex. `Cool. Scary, but cool.'

The phone rang, and since Clark was the only one not sitting, he answered it with a cheerful, "Hello?"

"Clark! God, how are you doing?" Chloe's concerned voice asked.

"Oh, I'm great. I'll meet you later to chat if you want. I have a lot of chores to do, so most of today I'll be pretty busy. But, I'm glad you called." Clark stomach complained at having to wait an extra minute for its vital food.

Chloe spoke in an insane rush, "My mission for today is to get the inside scoop on Friday's looping-time-flux thing. Wow, that's got to be one of the biggest stories yet. Smallville's weirdness is going Global! Later then, Pete and I were concerned about you and it's good to know that you're okay."

Hanging up the phone, Clark's smile brightened. He was actually looking forward to taking with Pete and Chloe about everything that had happened to him- but later. Maybe he might even visit Lana to tell her goodbye. Goodbye in both the physical and emotional sense. His friends shouldn't be lost or put to the side entirely in his excitement to spend every waking moment with Lex. But, the idea of having sex with Lex in every room of his mansion was a very inviting one. Maybe, he'd see his other friend's tomorrow, they'd understand.

Joining his family and lover at the table, Clark blushed a bit at that latter thought, before quickly dishing out a large plate full of French toast, bacon, eggs and fruit, and he began to eat ravenously.

"Son, I heard that you were feeling better? That's great. You really had us worried there." His dad smiled at him, glancing in Lex's direction a bit warily, "It must have been from some bad take-out Thursday night. I told you not to eat at the movies with Pete."

"Yeah, one pretty rotten hot dog. That must have been it." Clark replied a tad sarcastically, knowing how purposely fake that lie sounded, he grinned at his dad as a strong hint that Clark didn't want to lie. He felt like he didn't need to in front of Lex, anymore. But, he'd humor his parents this one last time. It would be fair to at least tell them first, before laying anymore huge-I love Lex-and-he knows my secrets- kind of bombshells on them.

His dad frowned, giving Lex another fleeting look. "Well, I guess we'll never know for sure. I'm glad Lex was here to help you. It seemed like his presence here made you feel better. You said his name often enough last night."

"Jonathan." His mom stated in a disapproving tone. Clark couldn't be sure but it felt like his mom may have given his dad a kick under the table. She looked directly at Clark as she said, "The boys needed some time alone. And, I'm glad that they were able to talk over some important issues with each other this morning."

Lex coughed into his paper napkin next to Clark, hiding a smirk. `I wonder if this is scaring the hell out of him like it's doing for me, or if Lex is finding this whole situation highly amusing.'

"What? I found it kind of odd, that's all." His dad tried to appear guiltless at saying anything wrong, even though, when his mom had mentioned alone time, Clark had seen his dad's eyebrow questioningly flinch. `God, dad must be oblivious.'

Clark smiled at his mom and dad trying to convey just how happy he was before saying, "No, you're right Dad. I was very happy that Lex was here. Thank you for letting him stay."

Both Lex and his dad looked at Clark stunned, and neither seemed sure how to respond to such a sincere comment. So far, it didn't seem like his mom had told his dad about seeing Lex and him kissing and groping each other. Thank God for small favors.

"Lex, we are both very grateful for you're help." His mom smiled, while giving Clark another questioning glance.

"Thank you, Martha." Lex bowed his head to finish his scrambled eggs. Clark stared as his rose lips opened and seemed to suck and lick overly long on the fork. Yes, that was most likely his overactive imagination playing tricks on him. There was no way Lex would openly flirt with him in plain view of both of Clark's parents, yet.

Sighing, Clark knew that, eventually, he'd have to talk to his mom about what she'd seen, as her curious expressions were becoming a bit more intimidating looking as the amount of food on his plate got less. `What am I going to tell my mom?'

"Anyway- Son, when you're done, I'd like you to help me with the tractor. The tire blew yesterday, and I thought it was best to wait and not overexert myself." Which meant mom hadn't let his dad do it while Clark had been too sick to help. Clark smiled at his brilliant mind-reading skills. It also meant his dad was planning on having a little talk with him about Lex. That sounded like as much fun as getting kicked in the groin by a speed-skate. Pete really did make up some of the funniest phrases.

A familiar musical montage began to play to the right of Clark. Looking over, Clark heard that it was coming from Lex's pants. `I wonder if it's vibrating as well?' Clark's humor was literally crushed when listening in, after Lex had pressed the answer button, and it was revealed who was on the other end of his phone.

"Lex. When were you planning on gracing me with your presence? I've been patiently waiting at the mansion for over an hour. And, my patience is wearing thin. When a person makes business arrangements, they don't conveniently forget to show up for them. I thought I taught you better than that. Where are you?" Lionel sounded as cold as an artic blizzard.

Lex retorted just as cold, "I specifically cancelled our meeting yesterday. It's not my fault you're becoming senile in your old age."

Lionel laughed. It sounded worse than finger nails scraping across a chalk board. "You did no such thing. But, under the circumstances, I'm willing to give you a temporary reprieve for your trivial oversight. I'm expecting you to be here before ten." Clark almost choked on his last bit of toast when he heard Lionel's malicious voice say, "Tell Mrs. Kent that I hope she is doing well." before abruptly hanging up.

Lionel was back in the picture. On the Friday's, it'd been so much easier to simply ignore the fact that he existed by simply not going to Metropolis, but now that it was Saturday, and Lionel was free to roam unsupervised anywhere he wanted too. Clark hated that man. He really couldn't remind himself more of that fact. Hate. Hate. Hate. How could he help Lex get rid of him once and for all? And, crap Lex was going to go see him. Another scarier thought struck him: `It's Saturday. If Lionel does something now, it's real- it can't be undone. Crap. Big HATE.'

"Lex, I don't think it's a good idea to go over there. Lionel knows that you've been investigating him. I'm sure that's why he came here."

"I can't hide from him forever." Lex grimaced, while getting up from the table, "I'm sorry to be leaving in such a rush. Thank you again, for the wonderful meal."

"You're welcome here anytime." His mom nudged his dad.

Clark frowned at his dad's lackluster response. "Yeah. You're a good friend to Clark, and I hope you stay that way." `What did that mean? Does dad know or doesn't he? Or, are parents always this paranoid?'

Following Lex outside, Clark wanted to grab Lex and make him stay here at his house forever. It was safer being far away from Lionel Luthor. And, Clark was worried about what would happen. He wanted to be with Lex every second from now on, even if that did sound completely unrealistic and overprotective. Clark anxiously asked, "Do you want me to come with you?"

Stopping at his car, Lex smirked while his eyes shone with way too much cunning, "Sure. You should tell me Elizabeth's address first, and while I have someone check up on her, you can have the honor of standing in the same room as my Father and I. Just in case we decide to have a duel involving real guns." The last part was said as a very unfunny joke. Clark didn't laugh.

Clark had let Elizabeth's name slip just the once, and that had been more than enough for his perceptive friend to remember. No, that was something he had to do himself. "I'm sorry, but I have to go see her for myself. And, there better not be any guns."

Lex turned and harshly grabbed Clark by the arm, "You have to? You told me that she killed you, but you have to see her? And, you're worried about my dad?"

Clark knew that it was wrong, but he liked the feeling of Lex worrying about him. It made that warm fuzzy sensation inside of him grow stronger. Now, to convince his friend that his way was the best way. "She never really wanted to harm me. I know that now. I think she might be... I think something happened to her because she was starting to lose control and now it's Saturday. But, I have to see for myself. Trust me, I'll be fine."

"I trust you. But, I don't trust her."

"I know. Ditto for me. I guess we'll just have to trust each others abilities to stay out of harm's way then. You with your dad and me with the lady who made my day." Clark grinned, while Lex looked at him perplexed. Elaborating a bit more, Clark said, "If it wasn't for Elizabeth, I don't know if I would have had the courage to stalk you back, and we wouldn't have this opportunity with each other, and I can't be anymore thankful for that."

A happy Lex made Clark one big happy alien. And, confirming the fact that he did indeed want them to have that kind of close relationship made Lex tremendously happy.

Lex moved in for a lush taste of Clark's lips. It was so much nicer kissing Lex while clean and non-stinky. Over-hearing a gasp coming from inside the house, Clark deepened his kiss knowing that either his mom, dad or both were watching from one of the nearby windows. How did he live before without Lex's mouth? Feathering his hand behind the back of Lex's head, Clark opened his mouth wider, joyfully meeting the trusts of Lex's eager tongue. This was sooo good, but Lex was going to miss his deadline if he didn't leave soon. Reluctantly pulling back, Clark gasped, "I'll meet you back at the mansion before Lionel leaves. Please, don't do anything to provoke him. I know you want to have a few moments alone with him. Even though, I hate that idea."

Lex's eyes widened in astonishment, "You can make it to Metropolis and back in less than half an hour?"

"Yeah, and I'll give you a piggy-back ride anytime you want."

Lex laughed as he shook his head at that absurd notion. Giving Clark an affectionate embrace, Lex quickly got into his Mercedes and roared down the Kent's driveway.

Clark couldn't stop smiling stupidly to himself while watching Lex's car get smaller and smaller. `So, this was love?'

"Clark!"

Turning to see one royally fuming dad, Clark fretted for a moment before walking towards his speed-skate. Suddenly, it became a pair of speed-skates as his mom came out of the front door to join his dad on the porch. Going with an innocent, "Yes?" left it wide open for his parents to respond.

His dad spoke up first, "What were you doing just now with Lex Luthor?"

Speaking as offhandedly as possible, Clark replied, "Giving him a good luck kiss? You know how scary his dad is, and I thought that he'd need it."

Silently gawking at Clark, his dad turned to look at his mom for support.

Grinning his mom said, "Honey, I know you haven't told us everything that has been going on for the last few days. This morning, you're not only healthier, but you're happier than I've seen you in weeks. I don't know how Lex accomplished that." Giving his dad a stern glance, she continued, "If this is the choice you want to make, then we'll support you."

Clark couldn't help blushing, "Thanks, Mom."

"You do know that having a relationship with Lex isn't going to be easy. This is a small town, and people are going to talk and treat you differently. You'll have to be prepared for the chance that people may turn against you." His mom looked determined to let Clark make his own choices.

"I know. I'll go fix the tractor now, and then I'm going to go check on Elizabeth."

Leaving his parents on the porch to mull over what had been said, Clark zipped through the complex process of tire changing with the expertise of a stock car racing mechanic, heck, he'd done it so many times that he could juggle cats and dogs with one of his hands while he fixed it.

He couldn't believe what he mom had said. First, wow, she's supportive, really supportive, and second what she'd stated about people treating him differently scared the crap out of him. `Wasn't that a lovely thought? No, Lex is too important to lose.' If his other friends couldn't accept the fact that Clark was with him, then they didn't deserve to be his friends. It was time- The time. He didn't have time for this. He had to go check on Elizabeth and meet Lex back at the mansion in like twenty minutes. Running back to the front porch he yelled out, "Thanks you guys. I truly appreciate everything you've said. But, I have to know for certain that this time looping thing is over for good. I'll be back in a couple of hours and we'll talk some more then if you want. Bye."

With a big wave goodbye, Clark was speeding his way down Hickory lane and onto the main highway leading to Metropolis.

With his super-hearing he did hear the beginnings of a protest from his dad, as he yelled out unhappily, "Clark! I don't think-" but it was too late to stop, and he didn't want to anyway.

Pumping his legs at full speed Clark was determined to get to Elizabeth's house as quickly as possible. Hopefully she'd be there. Smiling, it was wonderful to feel the wind whipping thought his hair and the sun shining down on his body re-energizing him. The last two days of in-house torture had sucked big time. Now, he knew exactly what it meant when his mom said that sometimes being cooped up at home for too long had made her stir-crazy.

Over halfway to his destination, Clark glanced off to the East and noticed that there appeared to be some dark storm clouds brewing. Rain. It would be nice to stand out in the rain and dance with Lex. Maybe Lex would dance with him if he bribed Lex with sex. Yes, the thrill of water falling onto his face, and body outside, while smelling the freshly cleaned air with the one he loved in a celebration of life. That would be something out of the ordinary to look forward to doing.

Racing down Metropolis' busy streets was almost like going though a really challenging obstacle course. Swinging and sashaying left and right and left again to avoid smashing into cars, bicycles and pedestrians, had almost a video-game playing feel to it. Seeing the medium-sized Victorian house less than a block away, Clark returned to a more human pace after making sure no one was within visual sight. `A first place finish. And, the crowd roars. Yeah, I won!' Sometimes it felt great to be special.

Smiling, Clark walked up to the front door and rang the door-bell before knocking a couple of times. No answer, just like the last time he'd been here. Walking to a more secluded area, Clark used his x-ray vision to scan the interior of the house to find that it wasn't so vacant after all. Passing over the moving fish skeletons in the living room, Clark found two motionless human ones laying on the bed in the master bedroom. He leaned closer to the house as he used his enhanced hearing to listen for either heartbeats or breathing. All was silent.

Beginning to panic, Clark paced back and forth not knowing what to do. He should have phoned Elizabeth yesterday and begged her not to use her powers anymore. He should have tried. It didn't matter how sick he was. They had to be dead. They'd died in each others arms. Why did she do that? She was young, she had so much to live for- God he felt sick. What was wrong with her that she had to become Juliet to her Romeo? Why did today have to end in tragedy for them? She'd tried so hard to be with the person she loved and she ended up failing in the end anyway. What had been the point?

Quickly scanning the area to make sure no one was watching him, Clark walked to the back door and broke the lock. Breaking and entering wasn't a very heroic activity, but Clark had come to the conclusion a long time ago that sometimes it was a necessity. Swiftly making his way to the bedroom door, Clark called out, "Elizabeth. Michel. It's me, Clark. I just came over to see how you are doing." He honestly didn't think they'd answer him. But maybe he was wrong. She could stop his heart by holding it in a time bubble or something. Maybe Elizabeth was holding them suspended in time or something else that stopped him from hearing any signs of life?

Hesitantly he pushed the door open. They didn't appear very alive. Much too stiff and pale blue to be answering him, in like ever. Wanting to flee from the room in tears, and yet drawn forward at the same time, Clark approached the still couple. Glancing down, he could see a bit of dried blood smeared under Michel's nose, but other than that he almost looked like he could have been sleeping. Next to him, Elizabeth's face had an eternal ghostlike smile on it. She appeared to have died happy. Her arms were wrapped around her husband in a way that it looked like she'd been trying to comfort and protect him to the very end.

Clark wondered what she must have been thinking just before it happened. He knew she'd been in terrible pain. He'd felt it and then the snap. From the looks of it she'd also died from a brain aneurysm just like Michel had. Had she told her husband? Clark had been so sick that day and knew that she must have been as well. Had Michel stayed home to take care of her- the way Lex had taken care of him? And then climbed into bed with her? Clark tried to remember whether Lex's arms had been around him when he had woken up, but couldn't. Suddenly, feeling as if he was invading their privacy, Clark ran out of the room. He really needed to see Lex.

His whole body shook as he walked through the kitchen, pulling out his cell phone, Clark called 911. He gave them an anonymous tip and hung up. The ambulance and police would arrive soon. They'd know what to do.

Wandering back to the front of the house to wait, Clark thought about what an impact that woman had on his life over the past two weeks. He'd learned so much about himself and what he was capable of. Life held so much more meaning to him now than before. His friends, his parents, and Lex... they were all so vulnerable, and he had to make sure that he'd always be able to protect them. Save them: from the world and themselves. Plus, sometimes he needed to be saved as well. Everyone has a dark side, and Clark hated how dark his was. He'd annihilated a public building due to anger and had seriously contemplated murdering two people, Lionel and Elizabeth. He needed Lex to help support him and protect him from his more emotional tendencies, and vice versa.

Clark felt vastly different than he had on that first Friday on May 28th. He wanted to enjoy his life from now on and do what he did best, save people. He sighed, wishing that he could have thanked Elizabeth for the gift that she had unknowingly given him.

Waiting until he began to hear sirens coming in his direction, Clark finally decided to leave. He honestly didn't want to stick around to answer any suspicious sounding questions and he had to get back to Smallville. He was already late and he'd promised Lex he'd be there. If Lionel had done anything to hurt Lex... `Why are promises so hard to keep?'

As Clark sped back to Smallville the storm clouds seemed to be chasing him. The sky above him was getting darker and darker. The wind smelled like rain. Would it be a nice spring shower or a heavy storm? Now that he thought about it, it was weird how some of his dreams over the last few weeks had an almost premonition-like quality.

The front of the Luthor mansion appeared abandoned, which was a bad sign that Lionel wouldn't be there anymore. Any other time it would have been a purely good sign. Because, in the past, not seeing Lionel was an exceptionally good thing. But, Clark had really wanted to have a few choice words with that man, and another broken promise made him feel horrible. Instead of being back a half an hour, it'd been more than an hour. Clark scowled; the emergency response time of the rescue vehicles in Metropolis was atrocious; they should be ashamed of themselves.

Warily opening the door and entering the premises, Clark was surprised to see Lex, wearing a thin purple shirt, waiting for him by the main entrance. He quickly expressed an apology, "I'm sorry I was late- How did it go?"

"The usual with a bit of a twist. My father, like the rest of civilization, felt the effects of time repeating itself over the last few days and quizzed me in his off handed manner if I knew anything about it. I told him that I did not. I'm sure he didn't believe me. And, amazingly enough, there were some actual discussions about LuthorCorp as well." Lex was holding a tumbler filled with what smelt like scotch, "Before my dad left, he quite deliberately gave me a tight hug- to feel the front of my body. I believe that it was a signal that he knows I've been wearing a wire. It appears that the game is up. He has a pair of kings while I'm left with two jokers." Lex mockingly smiled, appearing quite bitter.

Lightly grasping Lex's right shoulder, Clark stated, "I can testify against your dad, there's some incriminating information about him that I know about, plus more that I may be able to get a hold of. Chloe might be able to help as well. He's going to go to prison. I won't let him hurt you again."

"My hero." Desperately grabbing a hold of Clark, Lex kissed him with a fierce passion that burned all the way down to Clark's toes. Gasping, Clark was pleasantly stunned to feel Lex's hands pulling at his jacket. Once it was off, Lex casually inquired, "Did your little encounter go any better?"

That question made Clark's heart fall down into his stomach. Feeling grief stricken, Clark mournfully answered, "They're dead."

Pulling back, Lex looked into Clarks eyes with interest and concern, "Who are they? How- Clark, you told me that you thought something had happened to Elizabeth... how did you know?"

Clark moved away from Lex as bad memories of being nauseous resurfaced, "Somehow, I was connected to her, and I was sick for the last few days because- as she kept overusing her powers- it was hurting her. I could actually feel her pain, and it made me sick. But, she wasn't doing it to me on purpose." Clark sighed, "It killed her in the end."

"That doesn't answer why she was doing it."

Clark turned to stare out of a nearby window, observing by the amount of wind and cloud darkness that it could start to rain any minute. "Her husband had an inoperable brain aneurysm, and Elizabeth was turning back time making Friday repeat, in order to stop him from dying. She was doing it for him, because she loved him." Even though the mansion was a vast maze of rooms and hallways, Clark felt too confined. It felt like a close relative or friend had just died, and he almost wanted to cry. The sorrow was overwhelming, and he wanted to go outside as the earth and sky seemed to be calling out to him. It wanted to fall on him, and he was willing to let it.

Walking back towards the door, he hesitated as Lex wrapped his arms around Clark trying to comfort him, "You sound like you really cared about those people."

"I empathize with her dilemma. She didn't have the ability to cure him, but she had the power to be with him for a whole two weeks longer than his destiny would have deemed possible. I guess, she couldn't bear the thought of living without him. It's just so sad-" Clark looked at Lex with tears glistening eyes, "What would you do save the one you loved? Could you stop the world? I wanted to... but couldn't." He sighed as he remembered his failure.

Laying a few tender kisses to the side of Clark's face, Lex zealously replied, "I'd do everything in my power to prevent anything bad from happening to you."

It was wonderful how Lex could say something so simple and make the day feel perfect again. Smiling, Clark opened the door in front of him and took a deep breath of fresh air. It felt good to smell the earth, trees and water. This was life.

He still felt like he needed to do something to honor Elizabeth somehow. He'd never forget what she'd done for him. Turning around he told Lex, "I know she didn't have any other family than her husband. I'd like to help somehow with their funeral arrangements if at all possible."

"That may not be a viable option for you. If any of their relatives come forward, they won't know who you are. But, I can make sure that they are handled properly, and that Elizabeth and her husband have a nice and honorable burial. We can go to the funeral together if you'd like."

Offering his hand to Lex, Clark was delighted when his friend took it. Guiding Lex forwards, Clark was overjoyed to see the first few rain drops hit the ground in front of them. "Thank you. But, you don't have to try so hard to please me anymore. You've won. I've willingly given in to your charms and it's my turn to worship you. It's our destiny."

Remembering the cave wall paintings and cryptic prophecies, Clark suddenly realized that Lex was Segeeth. But, that didn't have to be a bad thing. Numan and Segeeth didn't have to be locked in a battle of wills and power, filled with hate and fear. No, Clark thought that there was another choice, a much better one, they could love each other and share a lifetime of friendship and memories side by side as partners.

Walking out into the mist-like rain, Clark felt Lex stop beside him. Turning his head and beckoning Lex to follow him, which his friend did reluctantly, Clark made his way to his goal, which was the ornate maple gazebo that stood a few yards away.

Lex inquired, "Why are we outside?"

"Don't you feel it? It's beautiful out here. So quiet and serene, and it feels right." Clark held his free arm above his head catching raindrops in the palm of his hand.

"It's raining. I know it's nice, to you anyway, but it's nothing unique. We don't live in a desert. Why is this fascinating you so much?" Lex was perplexed and a little uncomfortable in just his shirt.

"For me, it hasn't rained for over two weeks. Every Friday, it was flawlessly sunny and warm. The day never changed. This is different and- it feels like a new beginning. Are you sure that you don't feel it?" Clark grinned as they walked the last few feet to the large outdoor structure.

Lex complained, "No, I feel cold. You might like that but I don't."

Pulling Lex up the two steps, Clark surprised his friend with what he said next, "I can do more than warm you up. Not even the rain could stop me from setting you on fire. I'll make you hot and begging for more." Clark seized Lex's body massaging his arms, shoulders and back before capturing Lex's open moaning mouth in a searing kiss that made up in enthusiasm in what he lacked in skill. `I'm going to have to work extra hard on perfecting that.'

For a few moments, remembering some of Lex's own moves, Clark focused on satisfying Lex in a way that he hadn't been able to before. Licking and kissing at his friend's neck and ear, while rubbing Lex's pert nipples with his thumb, Clark got an overwhelmingly positive response as Lex turned into a clawing and groaning animal. `Oh, God yeah.' Blindly, they stumbled about the round area.

Bumping into an elaborate sculpture, Clark expertly whipped his hand around inhumanly fast and caught it before it could smash into the marble floor. Lex bit his lip, eyes full of lust, as he eagerly said, "Do it again. I don't think I'll ever get enough of watching you do such marvelous things."

Chuckling and feeling even naughtier, Clark lifted Lex up, and pushed him gently against the closest wall. Now with Lex's legs wrapped around his waist, Clark began to rub and grind their erections against each other as he used his superior strength to hold Lex up.

Beginning to get too close, Clark panted as he unbuttoned Lex's shirt. `No ripping the purple shirt.'

"Clark, I want you, but not in here. Please-"

Oh God, a begging Lex was so hot. Deciding to slow the tempo down, and savor the experience more, Clark softly closed his mouth over Lex's again and sucked and tasted the spirit of his, now, more-than-friend.

Drawing his lingering lips away to gaze into Lex's beautiful blue eyes, Clark thought, `Oh, how I want to be inside of you.' "I want to dance with you in the rain and make love to you under the stars, but since it won't be night-time for another six hours a rainbow will do just fine."

Lex laughed, "Isn't that excessively gay?"

"What I thought you liked being gay with me?" Clark teased while swaying his hips suggestively, before sliding his arms up Lex's body and smoothly lowering him to the floor. It was obvious that Lex wasn't in the mood to have sex in the rain, but there was always a next time. Hopefully, there would be many, many next times, and for years to come.

"I like being anything with you."

Clark smiled at seeing Lex's outstretched arm. `Where will Lex lead me?' Taking Lex's open hand and firmly hanging on, he followed his friend back into the mansion.

`This was a very good day.'

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. -Frost

Epilogue

Time. Plainly and simply stated, there is a lot of time. As time goes by, we come to realise it greatest value and worth. Knowledge. The longer you live the more knowledge about yourself and the world, and the universe you gain. To live forever. To gain more knowledge than humanly possible. But, who wants to live forever, if forever means to be forever alone? Time is a fickle creature. It changes like the wind, giving the gift of immortality to only those it deems worthy. Or, in a random act of kindness, whatever the case maybe. And if two individuals are thus deemed worthy to spend an eternity together, would they choose to spend their time as friends and lovers or as bitter adversaries? Only time knows the answer.

Latin quote from Day 11:  
Amor vincit omnia. -Love conquers all.


End file.
